


Dino-Dorks and Bug-Boys

by somethingborrowed



Series: Metamorphosis [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Action Dueling (Yu-Gi-Oh), Angst, Coming Out, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Haga is a spoiled only-child rich kid, Humor, I've never written a dueling scene before so go easy on me, M/M, Post-Canon, Ryuzaki is a bisexual disaster, Ryuzaki is the exact opposite, Shrimpshipping, Two gay teenagers having their first crush, sexuality exploration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 50,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28952973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingborrowed/pseuds/somethingborrowed
Summary: Dinosaur Ryuzaki has been away from Domino City for the past year, living back in Yokohama with his overworked mother. After everything that's happened, he's secluded and lonely without a support system to speak of, having long given up Duel Monsters and having cut off contact with all of his old acquaintances. When his mother gets offered a position as a nurse in Domino City, Ryuzaki suddenly finds himself right back where he started - back in the town that started his downward spiral. Finding himself at Domino City High, when Insector Haga quite literally crashes back into his life, the two are reunited and Ryuzaki couldn't be happier - that is, if the year-long bought of silence between the two wasn't so awkward to deal with. When Kaiba unveils a new tournament right in the heart of Domino City, Ryuzaki learns that Haga has been forcibly signed up to duel at the hands of his parents for the past six months, and that he would rather abandon ship and head out on his own than duel in front of cameras and television crews. Can Ryuzaki take Haga's place and win this tournament while the two deal with their rekindling friendship, and also while dealing with the growing flames of a teenager's first crush?
Relationships: Dinosaur Ryuuzaki | Rex Raptor/Insector Haga | Weevil Underwood
Series: Metamorphosis [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2150559
Comments: 13
Kudos: 8





	1. Return to Domino City

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is actually a revamp of my 2013 version of this fanfiction, and I decided I wanted to post it onto AO3. Thank you guys so much for reading! You can find me on Tumblr at somethingborrowed - if you like this fanfiction, please consider leaving a review either here or to my Tumblr so I can know how it's been received! I thank you kindly for all your support!

The interior of the apartment was small and cramped, unpacked boxes scattered around the entrance to the kitchen and down the hall where two small bedrooms were located. Dinosaur Ryuzaki took in the apartment with wide, dark violet eyes, a conflicted frown tugging at the corner of his lips. He turned to the entrance of the apartment where his mother was currently busy hoisting another set of boxes marked _Kitchenware_ through the front door.

"Lemme help with you that, ma," Ryuzaki called out as he went to grab the boxes from her, faltering a bit at their combined weight and moving to stack them with the rest of the boxes that would end up being emptied out into the wallpapered interior of their new kitchen.

"That's the last of them," His mother confirmed to him with a satisfied sigh, stopping for a moment to take in the sight of the apartment and to wipe the sweat from her brow. She couldn't help but feel exhausted from the exertion of grabbing boxes and moving them inside for the last hour, as much as her son had helped in making the process easier. She took in the apartment with a small smile on her face, nodding at it in satisfaction. It certainly wasn't much, but the two regarded their new abode with a small sense of pride as they looked at the place that they would soon be calling home. "I'd say we've earned a break from unpacking that moving van, eh Ryuzaki? We could see if there's a takoyaki vendor set up near here; a snack would do us wonders. It's hard to work on an empty stomach."

He took her in for a moment as she spoke to him – the laugh lines that creased the corners of her cheeks as she smiled fondly at her son, dark brunette hair that was mottled with greys that made her appear older than she truly was. Ryuzaki tried to push down his feelings of trepidation at the fact that it was _Domino City_ they were currently moving their belongings to, hoping he wouldn't concern his mother with the fact that he was not nearly as overjoyed at she was for the move and the change of scenery that came along with it.

"Takoyaki? Yeah, that sounds good," Ryuzaki said with a small nod, the fact that his mother was requesting his favorite food to commemorate the occasion not lost on him. It made him feel warm inside at the fact that she was thinking about him, most likely at least somewhat aware of how conflicted he was at their move from their hometown of Yokohama. He seemed distracted as he searched for his wallet, hoping he hadn't left it in the moving van, and when Ryuzaki went to move past his mother to exit the apartment, she put her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Ryuzaki wait," She sighed, hesitant to approach his feelings but knowing well she should at least address them – she had been waiting to talk with him without knowing how. Wide hazel eyes reflected concern as she watched Ryuzaki's expression shift to one of curiosity, hoping to breach the subject before they went on too much further without talking about the reason her son wasn't more excited about getting to move back to the city that he used to spend so much time at in his dueling days. "I know that this isn't your first choice, but I hope that our decision to move here hasn't... worried you too much. I want this move to be good for the _both_ of us."

"Ma, it's completely fine." Ryuzaki reassured her. Times had been hard on the two since his father's departure from the family, and his mother had been doing the best she could to survive and keep a roof over their heads in his absence. Her previous position as an overnight nurse in Yokohama had been leading nowhere, with her hours getting cut and their money getting tighter, especially with Ryuzaki no longer bringing home cash prizes from the tournaments he had once won. When a position for a nurse at the Yonezato Hospital opened up that would give her the hours and salary that she required to keep providing for herself and her son, she had jumped at the offer without a second thought.

Ryuzaki couldn't blame her for her decision – if anything, he blamed himself for the fact that he hadn't placed in a tournament in over a year, his deck mostly unused now as he had essentially retired from Duel Monsters. He knew it wasn't his burden to provide an income for the family quite yet, but the cash prizes he won from placing in tournaments had always been a nice bonus to help his mother with groceries or to pick up an odd bill every now and again, and he couldn't quite shake the burning feeling of shame at knowing that he had taken that from her when he put up his dueling deck and retired after his dueling career had ended so poorly.

He shook his head slightly, not quite ready to revisit those memories on his own. "I'll be fine. This apartment's just a short ride from the hospital you'll be working at. I'm just… nervous to be back in Domino City, that's all. I just need some time for it to all sink in."

"I think you'll find that time heals all wounds," His mother told him with a small smile. "I know you're nervous, Ryuzaki, but please – try to think of this as a new beginning! Who knows? You might even make some new friends here. It's good to be open to change and new experiences."

His nose scrunched up at the thought and he shrugged, playing off his aversion as nonchalantly as he could. The only place he'd be likely to meet anyone worthwhile was at school, and even that was a longshot at this point. Domino City High School was the closest school to their apartment that his mother could register him into, and with no car and a mother who would be working most of the time, Ryuzaki needed the walking distance to be manageable.

Wherever there was Domino, there was the King of Games and his band of friends, and that knowledge worried Ryuzaki more than he'd like to admit.

"I'll try," He relented with a small sigh, before turning away from his mother to go track down a takoyaki cart.

The rest of the evening passed quietly as the two shared their takoyaki and unpacked a few necessities, getting their bedrooms ready to sleep in as the night progressed. Ryuzaki had bid his mother goodnight as she turned in relatively early, calling to him over her shoulder about her first shift at the hospital starting early in the morning. He spent the rest of his time getting his room prepared in a fashion he deemed fit, getting the blankets on his bed and sitting atop it to peruse the various boxes he'd need to unpack in the next few days. He shuffled through one he had forgotten the contents of in the bustle of their move, opening the top and peering down into it with curiosity.

His deck was the first thing he noticed, his Two Headed King Rex sitting atop the stack of cards and looking up at him with a vicious roar. Ryuzaki couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth as he took out the deck, guilt quickly heating up his core again as he addressed the cards with dark violet eyes.

"I'm sorry," He murmured to no one in particular, setting the deck aside in favor of continuing his search. "I'm just… not ready yet."

The memories he had tried so hard to repress from earlier came flooding back now in the late-night hour and his own loneliness, Ryuzaki laying on his back to ponder the many images his mind was flickering through. The many duels he had used that particular deck for; the places he had gone in the height of his dueling career; the inevitable crash and burn and the feelings of shame as Ryuzaki recalled his fall from grace. It was so hard to pick up his dueling deck when he recalled the harm it had done and the people he had hurt – the time he spent trying to chase after the fame and recognition he had once had. The money from the tournaments he placed in was wonderful, but it paled in comparison to the trepidation he had at the prospect of picking up his deck and dueling again.

His thoughts strayed to Jounouchi Katsuya as he thought over the people he had used his deck to harm in the past – the one duelist he had considered his biggest adversary and the boy who still held his most precious card in his possession; his Red Eyes Black Dragon. Ryuzaki felt a cold spike of anxiety shoot through his body at the concept of running into him at school when he started; much less the concept of running into the entire gang of Yuugi and his friends. How would he even be able to face them alone, knowing all that he had done to stand in their way?

And he truly was alone here – as wonderful and supportive has his mother had been, she was the only pillar of support he'd truly had in the last year, and he refused to dump the weight of all of his problems onto the woman who solely provided for them in the absence of both his father and his dueling income. He'd lost any friends he had previously made, and hadn't reached out to anyone in the wake of his leave back to Yokohama. Even if he _wanted_ to curb his loneliness and find a companion who would tolerate him at this point, who would – _could_ – he even consider turning to that would still give him the time of day?

Light blue hair and golden beetle spectacles flashed through his thoughts, stilling Ryuzaki's earlier contemplations as the boy he couldn't quite ever seem to get out of his mind came crashing back into his memories with the force of a freight train.

 _Insector Haga._ The brunette's eyes went wide as he further pictured the teal-haired bug duelist in his mind – of course, when he pictured his earlier escapades in attempting to recover his fame and recognition back, there was always one boy who stood by him in his memories wherever they went – the one boy who he could truly consider a friend through everything they had been through together. It had seemed that even in the time since they had last spoke, Ryuzaki could never quite get Haga out of his thoughts, often pondering to how the bug duelist was doing and what he was up to in recent times. He stared up at the ceiling as he contemplated the boy, thinking back to their various adventures and all the time they had spent in one another's company.

No matter what anyone had to say about Haga and the nasty reputation that seemed to follow him wherever he went, Ryuzaki couldn't fault him too hard. He had always stood by Ryuzaki whenever the former dino duelist had needed him, and Ryuzaki had accepted him in return, warts and all. Reputation be damned, Haga had stayed Ryuzaki's most consistent friend during everything the duo had been through, and memories of the bug-obsessed boy coursing through Ryuzaki's mind only made his heart ache bitterly at the fact that even _he_ wasn't around to soften the blow of being back in Domino City. For the first time, Ryuzaki would have to be here without his best friend, and that knowledge only made the loneliness he felt creep further through his veins as he stared up blankly at the ceiling of his bedroom.

"… I haven't even called him since I found out we were moving." Ryuzaki realized guiltily, his heart rending at the fact that it had been so long since he had been in contact with his former best friend. There had just been something about the space and the distance that worried him – it had already been so long since the two had last spoken, and there was just something intimidating about moving to close that gap again. He worried his lip between his teeth as he thought about the prospect of regaining contact with Haga, half tempted to ring his friend up out of guilt at the time that had passed between their last encounter, but he shook his head instinctively as he mulled it over.

 _No… I couldn't_. _Bug Boy's probably off doing his own thing nowadays; he's better off not remembering everything that's happened the same way I have. It's been too long to ring him up out of the blue and act like we're all chummy again._

The issue kept turning over in Ryuzaki's mind as he sat up suddenly, deciding he needed to move and keep himself occupied before he drove himself crazy with his thoughts. Ryuzaki grabbed the box and moved it off of his bed onto the floor, resolving to get it unpacked as soon as he had the time and energy to do so. Readying himself for bed, Ryuzaki didn't drop the issue as he put on his pajamas and set an alarm for school the next morning, turning off the light and climbing back into bed.

_Even if I saw him again, what would I even say?_

Ryuzaki shifted to plop soundly onto his stomach, uneasy with worry that he refused to resolve so quickly. He held onto his pillow as he mulled over his thoughts, burying his face against it to try and still the onslaught of memories and questions he still had.

 _What would I even say to_ any _of them?_

He shrugged to himself as he nestled his face further into the side of his pillow, begging his mind to just shut off and allow him the sanctity of sleep so he wouldn't have to think on the issue any longer.

The time passed by achingly slow as Ryuzaki pondered the question over and over in his mind, his body finally giving out and relaxing as the exhausted teenager felt sleep beginning to claim him. Memories of Haga and their adventures together still trickled through his mind as his breathing began to even, and he started to doze off with the bug duelist's face still imprinted firmly in his thoughts.

Ryuzaki didn't find an answer to his question before he fell into an uneasy sleep.

The piercing sound of an alarm clock did little to peacefully wake Ryuzaki into the world of the living as the brunette gave an angry grumble, gracelessly flopping over so he could slam at the buttons in an attempt to turn the wretched thing off. He muttered angrily under his breath before he was successful in his endeavor to quiet the source of his frustration, wishing nothing more than to continue sleeping in and waste his day away in a heap of blankets and warmth.

His sleep had been a rather disturbed one, restless and uneasy as the teenager tossed and turned throughout the night – Ryuzaki had felt more like he'd taken a short nap rather than having slept soundly through the night, and he gave a spiteful sigh as his alarm clock's backup alarm started, sitting up this time so he could more accurately quiet the machine instead of banging his hand against it until he managed to find the correct off-switch.

"I'm up, I'm up," He hissed, ruffling his fingers through his thick brown hair as he yawned and stretched. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he opened them drowsily, not missing the flash of blue that was now seated at the foot of his bed as he blearily took in the sight of his new, crisp school uniform.

It took him a moment to process that his mother had most likely put the outfit on his bed for him before she had left for her shift at the hospital, and Ryuzaki scrunched his nose as he looked over the deep cobalt of his new uniform.

 _Well, at least it's not too ugly_ , he decided with a sigh.

With a nervous resolve, Ryuzaki got up and strode to the bathroom to begin his morning routine, already feeling uneasy about what the day had in store for him as he began to get ready for school.

Ryuzaki felt absolutely ridiculous dressed in the cobalt blues of their school uniform, hoping that no one would find him as ridiculous as he felt as he bounded towards Domino City High School. He was grateful that he was at least able to keep his hat, although the signature deep red of his beanie clashed awkwardly with the rest of his attire. It was the one thing Ryuzaki refused to budge on when it came to maintaining his appearance and complying with the school's dress code – he just didn't quite feel like himself without the comfort of the fabric resting against his forehead.

The one levity his uniform gave him was the fact that it was in much nicer condition than the loved, worn threads of his other clothes – Ryuzaki at least _felt_ presentable as his eyes scanned over the other students making their way inside the building, the boys adorned in the same blues he wore and the girls in a bright shade of pink Ryuzaki had yet to see implemented in any other school dress code he'd been a part of.

His nose scrunched up judgingly at the bright shades that their seifukus dawned – who on earth would choose neon pink for a school uniform?

Ryuzaki made his way to the front office to get situated and receive his schedule and his uwabaki, grateful that they had his assigned genkan listed next to his name on the print-out the receptionist gave him. He slipped his street shoes off and changed them before going to find his genkan, absentmindedly reading over his schedule as he made his way out of the front office and in through the main entrance to the school.

After depositing his uwabaki into his genkan, Ryuzaki made his way to his locker in an attempt to place his school bag down and grab what he needed before he headed to homeroom. Students passed by him as they made their way to their own respective classes, a few sparing a glance at the dark red beanie that stood out amongst the sea of cobalt blues and pinks like a beacon, before they determined he wasn't too interesting to look at and resumed chatting amongst themselves. Ryuzaki stood before his designated locker and set down his pack, working the combination and emptying his unneeded contents into the locker before closing and leaning against it to pass the time.

Violet eyes constantly scanned the crowd of students that passed by him as he stayed close by his locker, his nervousness setting in as he assessed just how many students this high school had. School had never been his favorite, and even in his junior year he was feeling less than confident about the sudden change of scenery and the _new beginning_ his mother had promised him.

 _Since when was I this nervous about anything?_ He thought spitefully to himself – there had been a point where he had felt so powerful, his presence once well known amongst other high-ranking duelists. When he thought back to the height of his dueling career – the Regional Championship he placed as a runner-up in, where there was a large crowd and cameras posed to record his every move; or the Duelist Kingdom boat, where he had a luxury room of his own for having placed in the Championship, and he had looked at the common rooms the other duelists were crammed into with a smug sense of superiority – he had never seen crowds as an intimidating or worrying force. It seemed that now that he was in one, in an environment that was new and foreign to him, he couldn't stop the trepidation he felt at the moment, and Ryuzaki couldn't help but sigh at just how much his confidence had waned over the years.

It was then that a familiar gasp brought Ryuzaki out of his reverie, his eyes shifting to the source of the noise only to be graced with the sight of the person who instantly made his blood run cold as he recognized him. Chocolate brown eyes and shaggy blond hair addressed him all too familiarly, and Ryuzaki wished he could be anywhere else in that moment. Jounouchi Katsuya stood before him, frozen amongst the moving crowd before he hurriedly made his way over to Ryuzaki, recognition and questioning showing clear on his face. Ryuzaki tried to keep as neutral as he could in the face of the person he had been dreading seeing the most, standing his ground as Jounouchi approached him from across the hall.

"Eh? Dinosaur Ryuzaki?!" Jounouchi called out, his voice jumping in pitch as he addressed the former dino duelist with intrigue. He came to stand beside the shorter brunette, out of the way of the crowd of students that were still bustling to make their way to class early. "There's no way – what are you doing here?"

Ryuzaki peered up at the taller blond boy, guarded and defensive as he stood his ground, though he chuckled at the old nickname. "It's been awhile since I've heard anyone use that name. My family moved to Domino City. Today's my first day as a student here," He answered simply, unsure how to proceed with the energetic duelist who stood beside him now. Deep chocolate eyes were scanning over the shorter male with interest – Jounouchi looked exactly the same as Ryuzaki remembered, wild blond hair framing his face and boyish features trained directly on him as the two sized each other up. He didn't seem to be angry or scornful at Ryuzaki's appearance, but Ryuzaki wouldn't have particularly blamed him if he had been sour. "Surprised to see me, Jounouchi?"

"I was wonderin' if we'd ever see you again, to be honest," Jounouchi explained, and Ryuzaki's shoulders relaxed – he'd worked himself up into a frenzy last night with his endless worrying and the residual stress was very much still plaguing him, it seemed. "It's been what – a year?"

"Something like that," Ryuzaki gave a curt nod as he berated himself to calm down. "You haven't changed much."

"Aww c'mon, I grew an inch!" The blond joked, rambunctious laughter soon to follow as he teased Ryuzaki. "I'd show off my sweet 'stache if it would grow more than six hairs at a time. You don't look like you've changed much, either – don't you ever want to dye your bangs something other than _purple?_ You've been rockin' that look since before I met you!"

"Why fix something that isn't broken?" The brunette quipped back, shrugging nonchalantly. "I look best with purple – I tried orange once and it was a nightmare. I'd rather stick to what I rock best."

"You're telling me," Jounouchi teased, "your hat looks like it's ready to fall apart on you! What've you been up to, anyway? Of all the places I'd think I'd ever meet up with you again, _here_ definitely wasn't one of the places I had in mind."

"We took a small leave to Yokohama before my mother got herself a job here in Domino." Ryuzaki explained. "I guess it's harder to shake this town off than I thought it would be, eh Jounouchi?"

"That it is," The blond gave a small smile before growing more serious. "If you're ever around, you should come say hi to the gang; I'm sure they'd be happy to hear from you."

As much as the idea failed to appeal to Ryuzaki, if his meeting with Jounouchi was anything to go off of, it might not be as dreadful as Ryuzaki was playing it up to be. "I guess it wouldn't kill me to say hi."

"Good!" Jounouchi said with a satisfied nod. "It'll do you good to get a fresh start here."

"A fresh start, huh?" Ryuzaki mused uninterestedly, thoughts going to his mother and the conversation he had with her the previous day. "You're not the first person who's told me that."

"Good, maybe it'll stick better then," Jounouchi teased. The bell for the first class began to ring then, stopping whatever he had been about to say as both boys paused to listen to the PA system. "I gotta get to class, but I hope I see you around, Ryuzaki. We should catch up more."

"I'll catch you later, Jounouchi." Ryuzaki nodded as Jounouchi turned and walked away, blending in with the crowd that was beginning to die down as the classrooms began to fill up. Ryuzaki turned to grab his bag and rustled through it for his schedule, following its directions to his homeroom. His thoughts were reeling from the interaction he'd just experienced, both relieved that it went somewhat decently and equally as confused and completely nonplussed that it had gone as well as it had.

 _I thought for sure he hated my guts,_ the brunette thought to himself as he rounded the hall to his homeroom. _What on earth was he being so nice for?_

The school day passed by in a blur as Ryuzaki went from classroom to classroom, getting acquainted with the new curriculum of his classes and gauging how well his previous schools' courses had matched up in comparison. He spent lunch alone, nowhere near brave enough to consider seeking out Yuugi to announce himself as a new student of Domino City High School, and by the time the final bell had rung, he was more than ready to end his first day and unwind back at his apartment until his mother's return from the hospital.

The week seemed to pass by in much of the same way, with Ryuzaki attending classes in solitude and going home to the apartment he shared with his mother. He'd only seen Jounouchi a few times in passing, never having the time nor the comfortability to stop and attempt actual conversation with the blond boy again, and the days moved by in a monotonous fashion as he rolled with the punches.

Ryuzaki felt lucky enough that his courses hadn't seemed to differ too much from his previous school, working in silence during his lunches and free periods as to keep him busy and unapproachable. He kept himself busy enough not to feel lonely, hoping that the steady stream of schoolwork would keep his mind at ease – the only person he ever really talked to about his day was his mother over dinner before she'd turn in for the night, her schedule keeping her busy as well and always in need of rest to continue on the next day.

He had briefed his mother on the encounter with Jounouchi Katsuya that had taken place on his first day, finally admitting to someone besides himself that he hadn't been expecting their talk to go as well as it had. His mother was lovely, but he never did have the heart to explain to her in detail everything that had happened between the two of them, so she didn't quite understand why Ryuzaki had been anticipating their meeting to go so poorly – she had the knowledge that Ryuzaki considered Jounouchi a formidable opponent in a duel, but the history those two shared was beyond what she knew, and Ryuzaki didn't know if he would ever be able to tell her the way he had dueled him under the influence of the Orichalcos.

The weekend brought him levity from the onslaught of classwork he had been completing, and the two finally unpacked their last moving box and got their apartment completely decorated. With everything settled down, Ryuzaki finally seemed to be at somewhat of a sense of ease, spending the weekend relaxing at his own pace for once and already counting down the days til his next week at school and what it could possibly have in store for him.


	2. The Reunion

Monday arrived sooner than Ryuzaki would have liked it to, and the day passed by uneventfully as he moved through the motions of attending his classes and trying to keep his head afloat from all of the coursework he would have to complete after school. He felt like just another face in the crowd at this point; even his red beanie seemed unremarkable as he walked to and from his classes in silence, and the last bell of the day couldn't have come any sooner as Ryuzaki gathered his stuff and prepared to make his way back home to continue where he left off on an upcoming assignment that would be due the next day.

Ryuzaki walked out of the front doors of Domino City High School with renewed energy at the prospect of finally getting to head home, his nose pressed into a sheet of paper that one of his teachers had given him about their upcoming curriculum schedule and the books he would need to obtain from the library. Ryuzaki was so entranced in reading the paper that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was walking, and when he rounded off to the sidewalk to begin his walk home, he suddenly found himself slamming headfirst into another passerby.

The blow was so sudden that his footing faltered, so caught off guard that he landed on his rear from the force of their impact. His first instinct was to yell at the passerby in indignation, but he knew he was just as much at fault for being so engrossed in his reading. Even so, he couldn't help the flash of anger that grew at being knocked down so abruptly, and Ryuzaki shook his head as if to clear his thoughts as he prepared to tell the stranger off for being so careless.

When he caught sight of the person he had slammed into, any words of anger he would have traded with the unfortunate boy in front of him died in his throat as he watched the teen frantically searching for his glasses, having also been knocked off his feet in their collision. Not recognizing who he had bumped into, the bespectacled boy in front of him growled in frustration at having been knocked into, his anger heightened by his lack of vision as he made struggled to make out the blurs of yellow that were his glasses.

"You'd better watch where you're going!" That voice was lower pitched than Ryuzaki had last remembered, but unmistakable in its quipped anger, his matching cobalt uniform not betraying the sharp wisps of teal hair that framed the boy's face. His fingertips scanned the tiles of the sidewalk before he grasped onto his spectacles, putting them on and blinking as his eyes refocused. He was obviously about to further berate Ryuzaki for being so careless as to knock the both of them to the ground, but his jaw dropped instead when he caught full sight of Ryuzaki, the two exchanging shocked looks as they regarded each other.

"Ryuzaki?!"

"Haga!"

Ryuzaki was off the floor in an instant as he remembered himself, holding out his hand to help get Haga up as well. The gesture was brushed off as Haga got up on his own, neither quite knowing what to say as they regarded each other with wide, surprised gazes. Haga looked down at his uniform and brushed off his pant legs where he had fallen, lips curling at the dirt he had gotten onto his uniform.

"I had expected my next run-in with you to involve dirtying myself in some way, but this wasn't quite what I had in mind," Haga sighed flatly, and Ryuzaki took the chance to look over his friend and take in his appearance. He noted with some degree of comfort that not much had changed – Haga still stood before him as a scrawny teenage boy, his hair still chopped into a bowl-cut that had his face framed by aqua strands of hair that made him appear younger than he actually was. Haga finished dusting himself off and pushed back his spectacles so he could address Ryuzaki with wide blue eyes, Ryuzaki biting back a snort at the fact that his glasses still had that beetle design he had become so used to seeing adorn the bridge that rested against his nose.

Haga's eyes scanned over Ryuzaki – aside from the change in uniform that Haga himself was also sporting, Ryuzaki looked virtually unchanged in the year they had not spoken, aside from maybe gaining an inch or two in height. Haga couldn't help but give a small smile at the sight of his friend, though he crossed his arms over his chest as the two spoke.

"I wasn't expecting to even have a run-in with you at all!" Ryuzaki couldn't help but laugh, trying to quell the racing of his heart. "You okay? I knocked into you pretty hard."

"It'll take more than a shove to rough me up," Haga rolled his eyes, though the small smirk on his face betrayed him from looking too serious about the matter. He took one look at Ryuzaki's red beanie and chortled. "Didn't they tell you no hats on campus? You look just as scruffy as I remember."

"As a matter of fact, they didn't," Ryuzaki quipped back, slipping back into the teasing back-and-forth he was so used to with the bug duelist. "That's the least of my concerns, though! I didn't know you went here, Haga."

"I didn't know you went here either," Haga nodded. "I thought you moved back to Yokohama with your mother – whatever brings you back to Domino unannounced?"

"I didn't go here until about a week ago; ma made us pack up when she got a job at the hospital here," Ryuzaki shrugged. "Money was getting tight, and she needed the change of pace. I can't quite say I was looking forward to it, but…"

Ryuzaki stopped himself from continuing and admitting that it was a relief to see his old friend, turning his cheek before Haga could catch the flash of heat that painted his face in a light blush. "E-enough about me. Why are you here? I thought your family lived way out in the east– what are you doing all the way out here in Domino?"

"Tch." Haga's nose scrunched up as the boy's face hardened, arms crossing over his chest again as he took a more defensive stance. "It would appear that my mother decided my dueling career was a good enough reason to pack up and move – I started placing in local tournaments again, and she's become quite accustomed to the cash flow. I've only been here for a few months; we haven't been back for too long."

"Seriously?" Ryuzaki couldn't help but chuckle. "But I thought your 'rents were loaded!"

"They are," the bug duelist replied. "That didn't stop her from wanting to move me to an area with bigger tournaments to participate in, however. None of it was my idea; I wanted to be rid of this cursed city. Unfortunately, the prizes for winning a tournament are much bigger here in Domino than they were back home."

Ryuzaki nodded in understanding. "If any place knows how to throw a good tournament, it's Domino City. I wasn't exactly thrilled to come back here either, though."

"Well, now that you _are_ here, you'd might as well join me for some food so we have a better place to talk than out on the sidewalk." Haga said by way of offering, huffing in frustration when Ryuzaki only addressed with him a nonplussed stare. "What?! It's not like you have anything better to do, dino-brain. I'm starving."

"You… want me to come grab some lunch with you?" Ryuzaki repeated, not quite sure how to react. It had definitely been the most civil way Haga had ever invited him to do anything, especially given how long it had been since the two had last seen each other. Ryuzaki had been expecting their reunion to contain more traded insults – perhaps a challenge to a duel. By comparison, the invitation for lunch threw him entirely for a loop.

"Anything to keep me from going back home to my mother," Haga sighed nonchalantly, gesturing for Ryuzaki to follow him as he began his way down the street. He hoped that Ryuzaki couldn't sense the eagerness he had in actually spending time with a fellow peer that he considered his friend – finding out that Ryuzaki was newly attending Domino City High had been a dream come true in the wake of the monotonous slog the rest of his life had become as of late.

 _Not that I'd ever admit that to him,_ the bug duelist thought to himself. _If he thought I was actually excited to see him again, I'm sure I'd never hear the end of it._

"Someone's feeling feisty, staying out late and _hanging with your friends_. What would your mother think?" Ryuzaki chortled teasingly as he rushed to catch up with his former dueling partner, keeping their paces even as he walked beside the shorter teen. He regarded the boy with a small smile as they continued on their path. "What do you feel like eating?"

"It's hard to be the perfect son when nothing you do is perfect enough," Haga shot back, though more to himself than to Ryuzaki. "The Big Web Arcade's nearby; they always have good food. You feeling up to it?"

"Are you kidding?" Ryuzaki laughed, voice jumping an octave in his excitement. "All I've done since I've gotten here is gone to school and decorated the new apartment! A trip to an arcade is long overdue – lead the way, bug boy!"

The Big Web was bustling with its usual crowd as Ryuzaki and Haga made their way inside, Ryuzaki giving the gaming side of the building a onceover as they made their way to the restaurant portion. The two grabbed a booth that had been open, both perusing the menus that their waitress gave them with hungry eyes. Ryuzaki's eyes darted to Haga, not quite knowing what to say, and when Haga spoke up Ryuzaki was inwardly grateful that he wasn't left to starting the conversation.

"So, I see your bangs are still that repulsive shade of lavender," Haga said with a small smirk, chuckling when Ryuzaki's cheeks lit up in indignation.

The former dinosaur duelist looked off to the side as he shrugged off the joking blow – at least the traded insults he had been lacking were finally being delivered upon. "Yeah, and I see you still haven't hit puberty. Why does everyone comment on my hair? I don't look good with any other color."

"It's pretty much your signature," Haga commented, setting his menu aside. "It makes you look as though no time has passed. What on earth have you even been up to anyways? You must've been pretty busy to leave me hanging for as long as you did. You went radio silent on me; you could have been dead and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference."

"Dead? I'm flattered you think so highly of me that you just assumed I'd _died._ I wish I could say I've been up to something cool, but… not much has really changed." Ryuzaki quipped guiltily, trying to miss the way Haga's eyes slightly narrowed at the response. "When I put down my dueling deck, I didn't really pick anything else up to replace it, so… I've just kind of been waiting for something to happen. I guess moving here was it."

"All this time and you haven't anything to show for it?" Haga tilted his head haughtily, though Ryuzaki couldn't fault him for it. If there was anything that he knew about the bug duelist, it was that perfectionism had been pretty much forced upon him, and he bore the unfortunate trait of expecting everyone else to live up to his perfectionist expectations as well. "And what do you mean, put down your dueling deck? You haven't quit, have you?"

"I haven't placed in any tournaments since I moved to Yokohama," Ryuzaki admitted, feeling somewhat self-conscious about the fact as Haga regarded him with a nonplussed stare. "It just… hasn't been the same, y'know? I lost my groove and it never really came back."

"Tch. I wish I could say something like that," Haga turned his nose up. "Mother's been making sure I register in every tournament that comes to town, no matter how much I try to refuse her. She's still as overbearing as ever – I keep telling her that I won't participate in anything too large, but she's so hard to negotiate with."

"I know you mentioned it earlier, but is that _really_ the reason your family moved back to Domino?" Ryuzaki inquired, leaning forward and placing his elbows on the table to prop his head up as he spoke. "I remember your folks being pretty uptight, but I never figured _that_ to be a good enough reason to pack up and just _move_. When I started going to Domino City High, I never thought I'd run into _you_ there."

"If this were any other family, you'd be right," Haga sighed. "But my parents have been getting stricter nowadays and I simply can't stand it. First it was about college, and becoming a successful entomologist, but then their overbearing nature started to become too restrictive for me, and I started dueling again to take my mind off of it."

"Pfft, I can totally see you as an entomologist," Ryuzaki cut in to chortle, a good-natured smile gracing his lips.

"Yes, and I still plan on becoming one, but when your passion becomes something your parents try to use to control you, it saps all of the joy out of it." Haga shot back bitterly, lightening up a bit as he watched Ryuzaki's smile fall. "Dueling was going pretty well as an escapism, until I started winning prize money at the tournaments. My parents started keeping me registered religiously because it's something they see as a _hobby_ I should be honing my skills in – it was either that or the chess team, and I'll always be a duelist above all else. Could you even imagine turning to _chess_ after experiencing all the duels we've been in?"

The thought made Ryuzaki break into laughter. "No, I couldn't. Chess pawns aren't even in the same league as dueling holograms. So, your parents started taking your duelist career to the next level _for_ you? How controlling could they possibly be?"

"It was tolerable until mother decided that the tournaments back home weren't good enough, and my father doesn't have a single backbone in his body, so he wasn't much help in talking any sense into her." Haga muttered. "Like I said, the tournaments here are way bigger, and the prestige that comes with winning them is triple that of any small-town tournaments I had been participating in beforehand. Let me tell you, there's no greater defeat than having two of your biggest hobbies used as ammunition against you so you're pushed to succeed. The only thing dueling has been good for, aside from the cash prizes, has been the fact that it keeps people off my back."

"It does?" Ryuzaki inquired. "How?"

"Attending Domino after such a long hiatus came with… certain difficulties." Haga admitted sheepishly, not wanting to admit that he had been remembered and targeted for his past transgressions. "I swear, you throw one set of all-powerful cards off the side of a cruise ship, or you pretend to rip the soul card of a beloved dueling icon whilst dueling from atop a _train_ , and suddenly you're plunged in infamy for the next two years of your life! Rebuilding a reputation for winning tournaments again – this time, as a clean-cut duelist – helped to dampen the blow, and people have been bothering me less and less with every new tournament I place in. It's the only thing that's been a blessing in this entire ordeal, Ryuzaki."

"You sound like you've had an interesting year," Ryuzaki admitted sincerely, pausing when the waitress came back to take their orders. As soon as she left, Ryuzaki shifted his attention back to his teal-haired friend.

"It's been a nonstop roller coaster." Haga sighed, relieved he could vent his frustrations out to someone who would truly understand. "But enough about me – you've hardly even told me _anything_ that you've been up to in your absence. How's your mother doing? You mentioned she got a new job?"

"Mhmm," Ryuzaki nodded. "The Yokohama General Hospital job she had was getting her nowhere – she got an offer over here in Domino, and she jumped on it. Times have been… hard since I put up my dueling deck. The tournaments I placed in were never the biggest, but the cash prizes at least made sure we could afford rent. When I retired, I took that from her."

"You can't blame yourself for that," Haga snorted, any attempt at comfort lost in the way his words came out. "Though I'm surprised to learn you retired from dueling so soon. What happened?"

Ryuzaki shrugged, not quite knowing what to say. "It was just… a lot."

"… Yeah, I get that." Haga exhaled deeply, voice tinged with understanding. "I only picked up dueling myself because of the stress of everything else in my life, and now I'm trapped doing that until I leave for college. Junior year couldn't pass soon enough."

"And don't forget senior year after that," Ryuzaki teased, jovial tone of his voice cut abruptly by the sheer scathing of Haga's glare. "What?"

"I can't wait that long," Haga groaned, slumping forward in the weight his turmoil. He rustled his fingers through wispy strands of teal hair, unusually vulnerable in the moment as he peered down onto the surface of the table. Deep blue eyes peered up at Ryuzaki for a moment as Haga watched him, waiting for whatever reaction the dinosaur enthusiast would give him.

The eye contact was a bit too unnerving as Ryuzaki averted his gaze off to the side, hoping that the dim lighting of the arcade would help to hide the blush he could feel spreading across his cheeks. "What would you rather do instead? You can't just hit the road right now."

His companion sighed in contemplation, straightening his posture as he sat back up. "And even if I did hit the road, I don't have a plan, so it wouldn't get me anywhere except for right back where I began – crawling back to my parents when everything inevitably began crumbling down around me. I suppose there's nothing much I can do but wait it out, huh?"

"Well, hey," Ryuzaki said with a shrug he hoped would play off as nonchalant. "For all it's worth… at least now, you won't have to wait it out alone?"

"You're referring to yourself?" Haga snorted, though his eyes betrayed his attempt at trying to appear unimpacted. "Yeah, because you're so much help when you _are_ here."

Ryuzaki couldn't help but laugh, rubbing at his arm awkwardly. "And if I promise not to leave for another year?"

"I suppose I would be an improvement."

"I'll accept that."

There was silence between the two for a moment as Ryuzaki cast his gaze back to Haga before the bug duelist broke into a chortle of laughter. There was a sense of relief between the two as they smiled at one another, Haga responding with a shrug of his own. "I can't say it wouldn't be nice to have you back, dino-brain. It hasn't exactly been the same without you here."

"You can say that again." Ryuzaki chuckled in agreement, and both boys' attention was diverted when the waitress came back with their respective orders, digging in to their food with a general sense of ease that Ryuzaki hadn't felt in a long, long time.

"So, where's your apartment located, anyways? I hope you don't think that I won't be dropping by – I'll need to give my regards to your mother, you know. She's always been kind to me."

The sun was beginning to set as the two made their way idly down the streets of Domino, the last few hours having passed with the boys making use of the Big Web Arcade and trying their best to win at the various games that inhabited it. Haga carried a small plush toy of a butterfly under his arm that he had pridefully won from a crane machine, his bright blue eyes occasionally looking down at the stuffed animal fondly.

Ryuzaki couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of Haga regarding his stuffed animal almost lovingly, feigning innocence when Haga turned to glare at him halfheartedly. "The old apartment complexes they built by the docks," he replied, already knowing that Haga's reaction would be less than favorable.

Haga couldn't help but scrunch his nose at the information, trying not to be too judgmental at the fact that Ryuzaki and his mother were residing at the lower rent district of Domino. "Well, I'm sure it won't be too bad," he quipped. "I'm sure it must be nicer than your old home."

"Oh, by a longshot," Ryuzaki agreed. "Ma's really happy with it. I just wish she could be around more to see it – she's been working nonstop."

The two turned down a street that Ryuzaki recognized as leading him towards the direction of his apartment complex, knowing that their time together was running short as they made their way back home. Haga evaluated Ryuzaki as the two walked side-by-side, a contemplative frown tugging at the corner of his lips. "I'm glad your mother is happy about it – are you, though? You've mentioned a few times that being back in Domino isn't the best thing that's ever happened to you – and trust me, I get that – but… I don't know. I guess I'm used to seeing you in a happier state of mind. What happened, dino-breath?"

Ryuzaki shrugged. "I guess I was just expecting everything to go downhill when I got here? I mean, with everything that's gone on since we participated in Battle City, I wasn't too excited to come back." After a moment of thought, Ryuzaki piped up with, "It's gone better than I expected it to, though. I mean, you're here, after all."

"Don't get sentimental on me," Haga huffed.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just… I dunno, I've been told, like, twice now to see this as a chance to start over – to start a new beginning here – and I'm just not buying it, you know?" Ryuzaki sighed in frustration, shaking his head to get his thoughts in order. "If I wanted a fresh start, why would I come back here? Even Jounouchi told me that this could be good for me, but how does he know that?"

"He doesn't." Haga acknowledged, and Ryuzaki peered over at him curiously, quieted by how blunt his response had been. "That whole group has always been far too sunny for my tastes. New beginnings don't just _happen_ – I didn't get my fresh new start just because I moved to Domino and started attending its high school. I'm certain that if I hadn't started rebuilding my reputation as a formidable duelist, I would still be under scrutiny for the things I've done, and I can't even blame them for that anymore."

"Well, it sounds like you're doing a good enough job for yourself. Things seem to be looking up for you," Ryuzaki said with a small smile.

"It's been getting easier, but I still think the entire process has been unnecessary and frivolous." Haga muttered. "As for you, I think the best thing you can do is try to make the best of it. Like you said earlier, you won't be alone through it."

Ryuzaki couldn't help but chuckle as the two stopped walking. Haga turned his attention to the sky, watching as it slowly drifted into sunset colors that bathed Domino in a soft blanket of orange. "I'd better start heading back home before mother throws a fit at my absence."

"Is your phone number still the same?" Ryuzaki asked, hand going to his pocket where his cellphone resided. "I'll text you later."

"You'd better," Haga huffed playfully. "Yeah, it's the same one."

"Good. I'll catch you tomorrow?"

"Mhmm." Haga nodded, turning as he prepared to head off in the opposite direction. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ryuzaki."

Ryuzaki took a moment to watch Haga start down the sidewalk, keeping an eye on him for a minute before he turned and started making his way back home. His mind was abuzz as he absentmindedly walked, replaying the afternoon in his mind and conflicted at the emotions he was currently feeling.

On one hand, he couldn't be more relieved that he had run into Haga, the knowledge that the two attended the same school bringing him a sense of comfort he hadn't felt since the last time the two had been in constant contact with each other. It would help to quell the loneliness he had been so adamant about pushing down, though as he thought about it, he still couldn't help but feel awkward about their sudden reunion, and the time that had passed between them that neither seemed too keen about exploring in any sense of depth.

Did Haga hold animosity towards him for the time they went without speaking? He certainly didn't seem unaffected by it, Ryuzaki concluded as he thought back to the short quips Haga had thrown his way about the year-long gap in their communication; but there wasn't too much he could do about that now. He was likely overthinking it in his own guilt, he tried to tell himself – but then why did he even feel so guilty about it in the first place?

"Ah, it doesn't matter," Ryuzaki muttered to himself, begging his mind to just let the matter go and enjoy the fact that his closest friend was back in his life again. He continued on down the sidewalk in relative silence until he reached his apartment complex, hopping up the stairs to his own dorm and slipping inside once he fumbled with the keys.

He could smell food on his nose the instant he came through the door, though it was subtle enough to tell him that dinner had been prepared some time ago. Ryuzaki found his mother sitting on the couch, fingers flipping the pages of a book she seemed particularly interested in before she addressed her son with a happy smile. He noticed she was in her nurses' scrubs with some level of disappointment – so she'd be leaving soon, then, if she hadn't already come home from work earlier in the day.

"Hey, ma," He nodded towards her as he slipped off his shoes.

"I was wondering when you'd come home!" She said, though her tone relayed that she was not upset with him for his late arrival home. "What were you out doing? You were certainly gone for a long time! How was school?"

"School was fine," He shrugged as he took off his red beanie, deciding to start with her easiest inquiry first. He went to join her on the couch, returning her warm smile. "I went out with a friend. Sorry it took me so long to get back here."

"I'm just glad you're safe," His mother said, ruffling through his brunette hair affectionately. "And that you've made a new friend!"

"Not exactly," Ryuzaki began. "You remember Insector Haga?"

"How could I not? That was the only boy you brought around for the better part of a year!" She laughed; her tone was light as she pictured the teal-haired boy in her mind. She couldn't mask her surprise at the mention of the boy – she knew enough about him to remember that he had resided east of Domino by a considerable distance. "It's been quite awhile since you've talked about him though! I'm surprised he's in town – did you have fun?"

"His family actually moved to Domino a few months ago," Ryuzaki admitted. "We just never got around to catching up, so I didn't know until today. It was nice to talk to him again."

"I'm sure," She nodded. "I always wondered what happened to him; you boys went to so many duels together before you stopped playing. You should invite him over, Ryuzaki; it'll be nice to see him again."

"I will - he already wants to come by and see the apartment." Ryuzaki relayed.

"Oh, that's so sweet of him," His mother cooed before pausing to look at her wristwatch, frowning at the time. "It's that late already?"

"You headed off to work?"

"I picked up an overnight shift at the hospital," His mother replied by way of explanation, sighing wearily as she got up from the couch. "It's certainly not ideal, but I should be home before you get up for school, so be sure to say goodbye to me before you leave, okay?"

When she turned to give him a hug, Ryuzaki accepted it without hesitation, giving her a nod of confirmation. "Good. Dinner's on top of the oven; it should still be warm. I'll see you in the morning, okay Ryuzaki?"

"Mhmm. Have fun at work, ma."

"As much as I possibly can," she relented with a small smile that failed to hide the tiredness in her eyes. She grabbed her purse and cellphone off of the table in front of them, ruffling through Ryuzaki's hair once more for good measure. "You be good, now."

"I'll see you in the morning."

Ryuzaki watched as his mother hurried to the door, unbeknownst to him that she was praising the fact that he looked more at ease than she had seen him since they had begun their move to Domino.

The next day found Ryuzaki scrambling out the door to make it to school on time, barely having time to grab for his hat and call out a goodbye to his mother as he slammed the door behind him and locked it. He had forgotten to set his alarm clock and it set him dangerously behind, not even having the time to grab the leftovers he had packed in the fridge, and the realization that he'd have no food with him today made him groan in frustration as he set a jogging pace to make it on time.

When he got to the school, Ryuzaki finally allowed himself the levity of slowing his pace, panting from the exertion of his run as he slipped through the doors with just enough time to hear the first bell ring. His day passed in a similar manner as he went through the motions, never seeming to be able to get comfortable in one spot before he had to switch gears and go to the next class of the day; lunch period came as a great relief to him as he made his way to the cafeteria.

His eyes scanned through the sea of students that adorned the tables and the lunch line, smiling to himself when he caught sight of the mop of teal hair he had been searching for. He made his way to the lunch table Haga currently sat alone at, sliding into the seat across from him and addressing his companion with wide violet eyes. Haga looked up at him and nodded briefly before he returned to his lunch, picking at a salad that seemed excessively bland to Ryuzaki.

"It's about time you got here," The bug duelist decided on as a greeting, grabbing a forkful of lettuce and carrots. "Where's your lunch?"

"I didn't have time to pack one," Ryuzaki groaned miserably, leaning forward to rest his arms on the table. "I overslept."

"The bags under your eyes tell a different story," Haga teased, reaching into his lunch sack and procuring a sandwich bag of crackers. He slid them across the table to an inquisitive Ryuzaki, who took the offering and stared down at it. "What? You can't be exhausted _and_ hungry. I know how snippy you get when you haven't eaten. I don't like this brand, anyways, so you'd be doing me a favor by taking it off my hands."

"Pfft, thanks," Ryuzaki rolled his eyes lightly as he opened the bag, popping a few of the crackers into his mouth with a satisfying crunch. "I can see why you don't like them – they don't have any flavor."

"Yes, I suppose that is a relatively important component for a decent snack." Haga chuckled, taking another bite of his salad as the two took a moment to dine. "If you don't like them, no one's forcing you to eat them."

"They're fine," Ryuzaki assured him as he grabbed another handful. "Thank you. Nothing quite says _nutritious lunch_ like wheat crackers."

"I'm surprised you didn't bring your own," Haga tilted his head slightly, putting his fork into his salad bowl. "You're so food motivated that it was hard to get you to do _anything_ before you'd at least had lunch in your system."

"Well, usually my mom would have made sure I had at least _something_ to take with me, but she had an overnight shift." Ryuzaki explained. "She was probably too tired to see if I'd packed one, but I don't blame her. That hospital's got her working to the bone."

"You always did seem to have a good relationship with your mother," Haga recounted almost enviously, propping his cheek into the palm of his hand as the two conversed. He absentmindedly used his fork to move around the pieces of his salad, looking for a cucumber he had thought he had missed.

"She wants me to invite you over," Ryuzaki admitted sheepishly, breaking Haga out of his reflective reverie. "She was happy to hear I caught up with you again."

"Well, that settles that I have to come over now." Haga said with a simple nod, though there seemed to be something more on his mind as his eyes grew distant. Ryuzaki couldn't help but tilt his head in curiosity, hand stilling from reaching into the bag of crackers again as Haga said, "Hey, listen. I wanted to apologize if yesterday was awkward."

"Awkward?"

Haga nodded. "I must admit, it's been so long since I've last seen you that I didn't really quite know how to react. It was… nice to catch up with you again. I know I was a little all over the place."

"You were?" Ryuzaki couldn't help but feel nonplussed as Haga tried to explain himself. "If you were, I didn't really notice."

"It's just nice having someone I can talk to that was actually there with me through everything that's happened," Haga said by way of explanation, taking a bite of his salad just to keep himself from talking for a moment. "I've only really had Espa around before you got here, and he's a nice guy, but—"

"Woah, woah, hold up a moment!" Ryuzaki said, cutting Haga off entirely. "Espa? Espa _Roba_? He goes here too?"

"He's attended since last fall," Haga confirmed with a nod. "We kind of hit it off – I only met him briefly during the Battle City Tournament, but he was kind enough to remember me. It was a relief to see a familiar face here that didn't want to exterminate me."

"With a mug like yours, he'd be hard pressed to forget you," Ryuzaki joked, though his tone was tinged with worry that Haga picked up on. The bug duelist addressed him with wide blue eyes, a gentle frown tugging at his lips that made Ryuzaki feel self-conscious. "What?"

"I'm assuming you haven't spoken to him since Battle City, eh dino-breath? He kicked you right out of the tournament, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, because he was a fraud." Ryuzaki scowled bitterly, taking the bait. "He still has my Serpent Night Dragon. I want that damn card back."

Haga only snickered at Ryuzaki's sour mood. "Oh, don't be like that. He's actually not bad company, when you get down to it. His family's too rambunctious for me to hang around with for too long, though. Siblings are such a foreign concept to me; I don't know how I would have coped if my mother had had any more children in the family."

"One of you is enough for this world, anyways," Ryuzaki smirked. "If your mother had an entire colony of Hagas back home, I don't think I ever would have stuck around, no offense."

"None taken," Haga snorted. Ryuzaki took a moment to address him with curious violet eyes as the teal-haired boy scooped up the rest of his salad and finished eating, relieved that he had at least regained his good mood back from the earlier tangent he had gone on.

 _What's this about feeling awkward, anyways?_ Ryuzaki wondered. _One minute he says he's happy that we're friends again, and he seems happy enough to pick things up where we left off, but he thought he was awkward yesterday? About what? It can't just be his griping about his parents – I've always thought they were way too controlling for his own good – what's got him worried?_

Ryuzaki didn't have too much of a chance to ponder the issue any further as Haga's face soured, Ryuzaki turning to where he was looking and finding Yuugi and his friends making their way to an open table. When Jounouchi caught Ryuzaki's eye, he gave a small wave that the dinosaur duelist returned.

"Eesh! Ryuzaki, what _are_ you doing?" Haga all but shrieked.

"What?" Ryuzaki turned to look at Haga. "We actually had… sort of a nice conversation on my first day. It was kind of weird, but I'd rather take that than scathing hatred. I wonder if we'd ever get on actually good terms with them."

"Unlikely." Haga frowned, starting to put his lunch away so he'd have something to distract his hands from nervously fidgeting under the lunchroom table. "You'd got to be crazy to think that they'd forgive us so easily – Yuugi especially."

"I don't know," Ryuzaki offered reluctantly with a shrug, chuckling when Haga refused to wipe his cross frown off of his face. "Now quit pouting – you look ridiculous."

"Not as ridiculous as half the stuff you've been saying," Haga conceded with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, you told me that he gave you some preachy nonsense about starting anew! How could that have made for decent conversation?"

"I didn't say it was preachy," Ryuzaki shook his head, "Only that I already got that speech before, and that was from my _ma_ , so you can imagine why I wouldn't want it ingrained in my skull."

Haga only shrugged. "If you want your _new beginning_ to involve joining the friendship brigade, I'll definitely leave you to it. I want no part in that."

"I can promise that's not gonna happen." Ryuzaki snorted. "I just got you back!"

The rest of their lunch passed by with easygoing small talk between the two boys, and when the bell rang to signify their free period coming to an end, Ryuzaki got up and grabbed his backpack hesitantly. He'd never openly admit that he had been enjoying their conversation, finding it too embarrassing of an admission, and he found himself stalling to wait for Haga as his companion got the rest of his belongings together.

"You know, I'm surprised it took me a week to even find you," Ryuzaki admitted as he watched his partner gather his things. "You'd think we'd have at least one class shared together."

"Unless you signed up for advanced organic chemistry and 19th century literature, I'd be lying if I told you I was surprised that we have no mutual classes." Haga chortled as he stood up, hoisting his satchel over his shoulder.

"Ick, I'll pass. Those don't even _sound_ fun." Ryuzaki gagged, sticking his tongue out for emphasis. "I guess I'll see you later then?"

"I have a chemistry project I'm going to be working on after school, so I'm unlikely to have time to hang out today," Haga warned him. "This shouldn't be a common occurrence, though; we're almost done with this unit."

Ryuzaki nodded as the two began to go their separate ways. "I'll see you tomorrow, then!"

The brunette made his way quickly to his next classroom, finding his seat as the ball rang and grabbing out his workload to continue where they had left off the previous day. The class took a few minutes to get situated before their sensei arrived, quiet discussions dying down as the students turned their attention to their teacher.

"We'll be relocating to the library shortly to start the next chapter of your projects," Their sensei announced. "Be sure to leave your backpacks here – we'll be returning shortly."

 _At least I didn't have time to get too comfortable,_ Ryuzaki thought with an indignant sigh as the students around him began to leave for the library. Grabbing his library pass from his satchel, Ryuzaki joined the steady stream of students that exited the classroom, keeping solitarily to himself as they made their way to the library.

His eyes scanned the rows of bookshelves that adorned the library as they made their way inside, a small smile gracing his lips at the prospect of being able to go searching on his own. Ryuzaki raced ahead of the rest of the students to get a head start, hoping to snag one of the best books for their history project before it was taken by another student.

He looked around in increasing desperation for the books he needed as he perused the library, however – his exploration for the book he had in mind was turning up fruitless as he shuffled up and down the aisles. Ryuzaki felt like he had scoured every bookshelf before too long, and with a begrudging sigh he made his way to the front desk to ask the librarian on shift for help.

Reaching the front desk, Ryuzaki called out distractedly to the person at the counter for help, only getting so far as to say, "Hey, can you help me find –" before he stopped in his tracks, eyes widening as he caught sight of the library assistant he was calling to. The boy at the counter was suspiciously familiar to him, and he couldn't help but take a step back as the stranger turned to meet his gaze.

Choppy strands of mint green hair that almost reminded him of Haga's were pulled back behind his ear as the boy addressed him, that cobalt student uniform looking increasingly wrong on the body Ryuzaki had only ever known as being clad in pastels. There was no mistaking it – Espa Roba was staring at him with steel grey eyes that quickly narrowed in distaste as he recognized the former dino duelist in front of him.

 _Nope_ , Ryuzaki's mind told him continuously as he immediately turned around and marched his way back to the bookshelves. _I am_ so _not doing this today_.

He was quietly begging to the Gods above that the faux psychic hadn't followed him, and as he rested his back against one of the bookshelves in the back of the library, Ryuzaki allowed himself a moment to relax. He wasn't even entirely sure why his reaction had been so adverse, scowling to himself as he stared at the wall of books in front of him.

 _That phony kicked me out of Battle City and stole my Serpent Night Dragon_ , he reminded himself bitterly. There was just something infuriating to him about having gotten his best card taken by a cheat – Espa hadn't even given it back to him after his psychic act had been debunked. _I could have probably handled that exit better, though… ugh, he probably thinks I'm so weird…_

"You do realize there aren't many places to hide in a _library_ , don't you?"

The sudden intrusion made Ryuzaki jump, uttering a higher-pitched squeal than he would have ever willingly admitted – the brunette took a step back as Espa came to join him, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked at Ryuzaki with interest. "Oh, quit scowling like that."

"Then maybe you shouldn't sneak up on people," Ryuzaki countered, trying to shoot down the heated blush that was searing across his cheeks. "What do you want, anyways? I would have thought you'd gotten the memo from my _body language_ that I wasn't particularly looking to talk. What are you _doing_ here?"

"Well, if we're being technical, you _did_ ask for my help before you ran off like you saw a ghost," Espa laughed. "I _am_ a library assistant during this period, after all; I needed something to fill the free period in my schedule. Tell me – am I that much of a sore subject for you? You couldn't possibly still be sour about our last encounter."

"What, you mean when you _cheated_ and stole my rarest card?" Ryuzaki huffed, trying not to fume. He wanted to ask what type of overachiever actively looked to fill the gaps in their schedule, but his anger got the best of him and the jab was lost in his frustrations. "No, I totally forgot about that – thanks for the reminder."

"Oh relax," Espa scoffed with a roll of his eyes. He took a moment to look down at his nails as if they were the most interesting thing in the room. "Jounouchi Katsuya told me you were going here now. I was wondering when I'd get the chance to see it for myself."

"Jounouchi told you about me starting school here?" Ryuzaki pondered aloud; his voice piqued in interest at the revelation. "That didn't take long at all. I didn't know he found it interesting enough to talk about."

"I'm sure he remembers how I took that Serpent Night Dragon you're still griping about," Espa shrugged, smirk broadening at the glare Ryuzaki gave him in return. "But enough about that. Does Haga know you're back? I was wondering if you two had reunited yet."

"As a matter of fact, we did." Ryuzaki nodded, thinking back to his lunch period with Haga when the bug duelist had mentioned Espa briefly. Violet eyes addressed the teen in front of him, curious about just how close the two had gotten over the course of their time together.

"I'm sure he must have been pleased to see you again."

"As pleased as Haga could ever be about anything." Ryuzaki couldn't help but chuckle, unsure about the sudden change in topic. "I missed him. It hasn't been the same since we stopped talking, so I'm stoked that he's here. It makes getting settled back in way less awkward."

"I'm sure." Espa frowned. "It does help to integrate into a new school when you aren't entirely alone."

"Wait – _what?_ What does that have to do with anything?" Ryuzaki wondered in indignation, getting defensive. "Besides, I don't believe that for a second. He told me you guys hit it off when he moved here. That doesn't sound very _alone_ to me."

Espa merely shrugged. "You'd be right about that. When you find someone else who understands being scorned by the dueling community like you do, you find it easy to bond. I've been his closest friend since he began attending Domino City High."

 _Your little psychic stunt doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what being scorned means,_ Ryuzaki growled internally, trying to keep his bitterness to himself. He only crossed his arms in frustration over his chest. "Oh yeah? Well, I wouldn't worry myself about it too much if I were you – that won't last long."

"Is that _supposed_ to worry me?" Espa laughed, the noise biting and short. "Should I remind you that I've been the _only_ friend he's had while he's been here? He's filled me in on your absence, and exactly how long it had been since he last heard from you. In case you're forgetting, you just _got_ here; you never even bothered to call him, if I recall correctly."

"I fail to see how that's any concern of yours," Ryuzaki snapped. "Why do you even care?"

"Because I know how lonely he was while you were gone, Ryuzaki, and I think that if you're looking to make up for lost time, you're a little too late."

Ryuzaki couldn't help but shrink back at the critical tone of Espa's voice – he knew there was enough truth in the matter of how he had ghosted Haga without a proper goodbye, but knowing that Haga found it significant enough to tell Espa about bothered Ryuzaki on a level he couldn't quite understand.

"Yeah, and if you think I'm going to magically disappear again, I've got some news for you. I don't exactly make a habit of jumping ship."

Espa only shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time that's happened."

"I couldn't exactly control my family _moving_ , you know. I had my own stuff going on, and if Haga was really so bothered about any of this, why hasn't he said anything about it? He's mentioned it in passing, sure, but if it's apparently as big an issue as you're making it to be, bug-guts himself sure has kept quiet about it."

"Just because he hasn't mentioned anything to _you_ doesn't mean he never mentioned it at all, you know." Espa pointed out. "He cares more about you than he lets on - although _why_ he would is beyond me."

"Tch. Just because I'm talking to him again doesn't mean that I don't feel bad about leaving him hanging for so long," Ryuzaki shot back. "Listen, Roba, you can try to pick a fight with me all you want if it will really make you feel better, but if you're here to tell me I messed up by not talking to him, I already know."

"I'm just looking out for him." Espa admitted, voice still tense and conflicted. "I don't want him to get his hopes up."

"Get his hopes up with what - my _friendship_? That's never changed."

"Yeah, and I think that's part of the problem."

"What on earth does _that_ mean?"

Before Ryuzaki could get a proper response, however, the librarian rounded the corner to where the two boys stood talking, hands on his hips expectantly. "You still have books to sort before the period is over, Espa – if you're done helping this student, that is."

"Yes, sensei," Espa flinched at the gentle reprimand, and before Ryuzaki could get his answer, Espa was turning away from him. "I need to get back to my work," he told Ryuzaki, peering at the brunette from over his shoulder, "but it was good to see you again, for whatever it's worth. I hope having you back is as good for Haga as he's probably hoping it will be."

Ryuzaki watched as the psychic duelist made his way back to his desk at the front of the library, somewhere in the back of his mind finding the irony in that he still didn't have the book he needed even after Espa's reprimand from the librarian.

 _Just what on earth was that about?!_ He fumed, mind not even beginning to sort through everything that had just occurred. What did Espa care if Haga had a hidden gripe with Ryuzaki's absence?

With a frustrated sigh, Ryuzaki turned and started searching through the bookshelves again in an attempt to distract himself – if even just to try to get his mind off of his confrontation with Espa, he needed something to focus on. The rows of books stretched on before him, nowhere near as enticing to search through as they had been just a few minutes ago, and Ryuzaki couldn't help but ruffle his fingers through his hair as he tried to will his history assignment to become relevant to him again.


	3. Contemplations

"What's wrong, honey? You've barely touched your dinner."

"Huh?" Ryuzaki startled, pulled out of his reverie by his mother, who sat watching him with interest from the other side of the dinner table. Espa's words had still stuck with him hours after he had been confronted by the mint-haired boy, and he was finding it difficult to focus and eat with his mother before she left for her overnight shift. "O-oh, sorry ma. I guess I spaced out there for a second."

"I'd say that was more like a few _minutes._ What's got you so lost in thought, dear? I've never seen you take so long to eat tonkatsu before." His mother chuckled, resting her head into the palm of her hand as she looked over her son. He at least didn't look quite as miserable as he had when they first moved in, she thought with some degree of relief, but something had definitely bothered him; to see him in front of a meal and not scarfing it down like his life depended on it was a rare sight indeed. "To be quite honest, it's a little worrisome. You only ever get like this when you're ill."

"I'm not ill," Ryuzaki assured her, grabbing a slice of pork for emphasis and pausing to eat it. He relaxed slightly as her smile grew wider, hoping he had successfully placated her. "I just had an interesting day at school."

"Oh?" She inquired with a tilt of her head, her nose crinkling subconsciously as he talked with half-eaten food still in his mouth. "What happened?"

"Just this really weird talk I had in the library." He shrugged, waiting to gauge her reaction as he talked. "I ran into Espa Roba today."

"Now, I know that name sounds familiar, but I can't quite place who it belongs to." Her features slid into a small frown as she toyed with a piece of her own tonkatsu, poised to snap at it with her chopsticks as conversational lulls allowed. "Was he a friend of yours?"

"Not really," Ryuzaki shook his head, digging into another piece of his dinner as he frowned. "And I don't think he's about to be, either. I-it's fine though, ma."

"I'm sure you're just overthinking it," His mother reassured him. "If he doesn't want to be your friend, that's his loss, not yours. Speaking of friends, how is Haga doing?"

"Ah," He slid back in his chair as he contemplated her words. _Hopefully not as bad as Espa made it sound like he is._ "He's doing good. I was hoping we'd get to hang out today, but he had a project he had to do. He said he wants to come by and catch up with you."

"He's always welcome to," His mother smile, her kind eyes helping Ryuzaki to relax more as he dug into his food with a regained sense of vigor.

"Espa thinks he might be upset with me for how long it took us to get back in touch," Ryuzaki admitted sullenly, feeling the need to admit to the source of his guilt. His mother regarded him for a moment, waiting to see if he had anything further to say, and when he failed to speak up she could only shrug.

"Well, then that would be between you and Haga." She said simply, as if that answered everything. "And besides, if he _is_ upset, it's just something that he needs to communicate to you. It isn't the end of the world, honey."

"You think it's that easy?" Ryuzaki inquired curiously, mirroring his mother's earlier body language and propping his cheek into the palm of his hand. "He's not exactly the… easiest person to talk down when he gets upset."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," His mother chuckled. "And so will you. I need to get ready for my shift tonight – did you need anything before I left?"

"No, ma, I'm fine," Ryuzaki shook his head, standing up and giving his mother a hug before she went to grab her belongings.

"Make sure you say goodbye to me in the morning before you go to school," She advised him, returning the hug lovingly. "Be good, and don't burn down the house, okay?"

"You're putting a ban on pyrotechnics?" He asked with mock incredulousness. "What kind of mother are you?"

"A mother who wants her bedroom to still be in tact when she gets off of work," She laughed, ruffling through his hair. "Try to sleep at a decent hour tonight, Ryuzaki. I'll see you in the morning."

"Have a good night at work, ma."

Getting to school the next morning had been much less of a slog than it had been the previous day, and when Ryuzaki made his way through the front doors of his high school with time to spare, the brunette felt an odd sense of pride as he recalled being back home in Yokohama, where he had been consistently late to his classes. He took a peek at the analog on the wall and worried his lip with his teeth absentmindedly.

 _I wonder if I can find Haga before class starts,_ he thought to himself, turning down the hallway to see if he could find the bug duelist amongst the rest of the students who had made it to school this early in the morning. Ryuzaki knew enough about his teal-haired companion to know that the boy was both academically gifted _and_ looking to get as far away from his parents as possible, so he wouldn't have been surprised to learn that Haga made a habit of coming to school as early as he possibly could to get the extra time to himself.

There weren't many students that had arrived yet; the hallways were refreshingly reduced of their usual student mass, and Ryuzaki took the time to peer around as he made his way through the interior of the school. He figured the emptier hallways would make it easier to take in the school; amongst the bustle of his classes and the usual crowd of teens wandering the halls, taking in his surroundings to better orient himself had never been a priority to the brunette. The early morning was still cold and he figured it would be unlikely to Haga to be outside – even someone as obsessed with insect collecting as Haga was wouldn't take too kindly to getting his sneakers soaked in the morning dew that still graced the outside lawn.

As Ryuzaki turned the corner to an adjacent corridor, he was surprised to see Seto Kaiba making his way down the mostly empty hall, cell phone in his hand as he rushed towards an empty teacher's conference room. Ryuzaki was intrigued to see just how preoccupied Kaiba was at the moment, currently barking orders into the receiver at his secretary as he advanced in Ryuzaki's direction.

"Tell him that if they're thinking about backing out now, I won't take too kindly to this flagrant abuse of our business partnership." He growled, not even acknowledging Ryuzaki's presence as he fumbled with the doorknob. "No. I don't _care_ what his reasoning for the delay is. Summer break is the perfect time to execute this tournament, and I am _not_ waiting on Kanagami's approval to start the marketing campaign and promotion for this! Does he realize that every day I waste waiting for him to get his shit together is another day behind that this entire endeavor gets? I'm about ready to call off our partnership altogether and throw this entire tournament myself!"

 _Kaiba's thinking about hosting a tournament?_ Ryuzaki thought with intrigue, unable to stop the rush of adrenaline he felt at the prospect of getting to participate in a KaibaCorp tournament once more.

Kaiba stopped to swear in frustration as he grabbed for his keyring, looking for the appropriate key to open the conference room. Ryuzaki couldn't help but find it highly amusing that he had most likely negotiated getting a key to the conference room from the school; how would one even go about asking for something like that in the first place? Ryuzaki could only shrug to himself – it would make sense that someone as rich as Kaiba would need to take business calls, even during school hours, and the teacher's conference rooms were both private and soundproof enough to provide him the space he would need to attend to his business matters in solitude.

"I don't care if you need to interrupt the current business meeting that Kanagami's in – this tournament is more important! Get him on the line!" Kaiba barked as he finally unlocked the door, the rest of his conversation lost to Ryuzaki's ears as the door was slammed and locked behind him.

"… I would _not_ want to be the sorry sucker stuck as his secretary." Ryuzaki couldn't help but mutter to himself, feeling sympathetic for whatever poor soul was on the other line; it couldn't be easy enduring Kaiba's likely recurring outbursts. "I wonder what his turnover rate must look like?"

He turned back the way he came, knowing that Haga was unlikely to be that in that direction and that he'd only be wasting his time if he resumed his explorations down that corridor. As he made his way back to the front of the school, Ryuzaki's mind was abuzz with the implications of an upcoming tournament in Domino City. The limelight and sensationalism of a tournament was undeniably attractive and tempting to participate in, even to a duelist who had been dormant in his career for about a year now. There was just something so classic about a KaibaCorp-sponsored tournament – something that just couldn't be replicated by smaller towns who hosted their own tournaments, however valiant their efforts may be to capture the same essence.

However tempting it might have been to pick up his deck, there was still the tug of doubt that unsettled Ryuzaki as he thought about dueling again – he'd be better off to just let Haga know ahead of time that an upcoming tournament was headed to Domino City. With Haga's talk of regaining his reputation back and looking for the prestige of winning tournaments, it would do him good to be prepared for this competition before it was announced to the public.

Ryuzaki's endeavors to locate his friend were in vain, however, and the school bell rang to signify that he had run out of time to find Haga before classes began. Begrudgingly making his way to homeroom, Ryuzaki vowed to speak to Haga about the tournament as soon as they had a chance to talk next.

That time wouldn't come until after school, however, with his day being excessively busy and overwhelming; it seemed that the entire school was intent on getting as much done with their students as they could before summer break started. Ryuzaki knew he'd be grateful for the month off when it finally arrived, but there was something about cramming so many assignments into the final stretch of the semester that failed to make him excited for the respite in his schedule quite yet. He figured he likely would have been better off if he had transferred earlier in the quarter, but there wasn't too much he could do about that now, and so it was with no pleasure that he trudged from class to class, accepting paperwork and jotting down deadlines while trying to ignore the creeping dread he was feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Even lunch hadn't given him a break, having been forced into the library to pick out the books he had failed to obtain the previous day, and unable to find Haga after he had finally checked out a good book for his history project. His only saving grace was that Espa hadn't been there, either on his own lunch or stuck in another class, and Ryuzaki was currently staring at the cover of his newly acquired book as he trudged down the front steps of the school, relieved that the day was over and he could finally catch a break from how nonstop it had been thus far.

His eyes scanned the schoolyard for Haga, hoping he wouldn't be walking home without at least seeing his friend and exchanging pleasantries, and it was with great interest that he instead caught Kaiba's gaze as the renowned duelist in front of him made his way from the building as well, briefcase clutched tightly in his hand as he waited for his ride to come. Ryuzaki hadn't noticed earlier, but he couldn't stop the snort from escaping his lips as he caught sight of Kaiba in the same matching uniforms every other male in the school wore – there was just something about Kaiba and his usual choice in attire that made the simple cobalt school suit look ridiculously underdressed by comparison. Free from the flowing, billowing white coat that entirely swamped his lithe frame and the plethora of belts that usually adorned him, Kaiba looked almost normal.

He didn't have much time to think further on it, however, when he saw a flash of teal in the crowd and the unmistakable glint of those reflective beetle glasses. Ryuzaki couldn't help the smile on his face as he finally located Haga, who quickly made his way up the stairs to meet with his friend with an enthusiasm Ryuzaki hadn't expected.

"Finally," Haga exhaled from the short exertion as he stopped in front of Ryuzaki. "I've been looking for you! Why didn't I see you at lunch?"

"I still needed to get my books for my history project," Ryuzaki admitted sheepishly. "Sorry about that! I tried to find you after I was done. What's up, bug-guts?"

"Well, firstly, that nickname is atrocious."

"And secondly?" Ryuzaki snorted in laughter.

"I was wondering if you had any plans this afternoon." The teal-haired boy crossed his arms over his chest, nose wrinkling at the nickname Ryuzaki had used. "Do you want to hang out?"

"Sure! I don't exactly have the money to go out and eat every time I make plans, though, so if you're inviting me to lunch, it might have to wait until I can afford something that isn't on the dollar menu."

"As if anything that cheap can even be considered food," Haga huffed, shaking his head. "No, we don't have to go anywhere that requires money. Domino City Park is open – I've been meaning to go bug hunting, and they have quite the impressive collection of local wildlife there."

"I don't really know if you can consider bees and ants _wildlife,_ but I like the enthusiasm. Leave it to you to find something nerdy about going to a _park_ ," Ryuzaki joked, laughing as Haga lightly socked him in the arm to quiet him.

"I'd like to see you come up with a better idea, dino-brain!"

"I didn't say I thought it was a _bad_ idea!" He chuckled, relenting as Haga's frustration made itself apparent. "Lead the way. It'll be nice to actually get out and go somewhere that's not just concrete and skyscrapers. Yokohama had a similar vibe, but at least it wasn't _actually_ Domino. Looking at the skyline gets kind of depressing after a while."

"I know what you mean." Haga nodded as the two began their journey, side-by-side as they sauntered through the neighborhoods that led to the park. "It's nice to know where to go when you want to do something fun, like see a movie or get some food – but there's so much going on here that it gets suffocating after a while. I wish they had more greenery than just a park; it's hard to find insects in the heart of Domino."

"If I was a butterfly, I wouldn't really want to hang out downtown either," Ryuzaki shrugged. "Next thing you know I try to cross the street at the wrong time and get slammed by public transport. A windshield must be the cruelest death a bug can experience, I swear."

"At least it's over quickly that way," Haga countered. "I'd certainly find it a more dignified death than ending up in a spider's web – if I had to choose between getting my insides sucked out by an arachnid and ending up on a car windshield, I know which one _I'd_ rather pick."

"Leave it to you to _rank_ the ways you'd prefer to die if you were an insect," Ryuzaki laughed. "What's number three on your list? A flyswatter?"

"Eesh, are you kidding me?" The shorter teen said with a sneer that crinkled his nose. "That's the _least_ dignified insect death there is! It has no other place but at bottom of the list."

"Fair enough." Ryuzaki shrugged. He took a moment to lazily watch his companion as the two made their way down the sidewalk, violet eyes scoping out the boy beside him. He seemed happy enough making idle chit-chat as the two walked side-by-side, Ryuzaki decided – he occasionally moved to readjust his spectacles further up his nose, or animatedly use his hands as he went on about something bug-related that particularly interested him. Everything he did was so utterly and distinctly _Haga_ , and the familiarity of his quirks that Ryuzaki had picked up on over the years they had known each other was comforting to the dinosaur enthusiast.

 _I didn't realize just how much I missed him,_ Ryuzaki thought to himself as Haga went on about a particularly interesting African beetle he had gotten into studying, his hands expressively mapping out the creature's carapace in the air to give Ryuzaki an idea of just how big the insect was. He interjected to ask where in Africa the beetle was located before he went back on to his subconscious observations, smiling to himself as Haga continued on enthusiastically without skipping a beat. _How could one person have so much to say about a bug?_

"— And that's only how big the _males_ get! The females average about twice their size and are a beautiful oaky brown color! I tell you, Ryuzaki, their _horns_ –"

Ryuzaki couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to Haga's enthusiasm. He'd be more inclined to judge his former partner in crime if he wasn't keenly aware just how long he could go on ranting about dinosaurs and raving about his list of favorite archaeological discoveries, chuckling to himself at the knowledge that Haga had been subject to more than one of those tirades and had probably hated every moment of it. If there was one thing the two had in common, it was the ability to rave for hours about their favorite passions and hobbies – be it insects, dinosaurs or Duel Monsters.

 _I don't know how, but bug-guts over there somehow manages to make jabbering on about a_ beetle _look cute…_

His eyes widened in shock as he mulled over the observation.

W _-wait, Haga? Cute?!_

His face was instantly alight in a heated blush – since when had he _ever_ considered anything Haga did _cute?_ Ryuzaki was already backtracking in desperation as he tried to rationalize his thought process, praying to anyone that would listen that Haga wouldn't notice his abrupt change in behavior or the burning blush that tinged his cheeks. Ryuzaki averted his gaze to the other side of the sidewalk as he attempted to sort out his rampant onslaught of thoughts; first of which being somewhere along the lines of _'what on earth was I thinking?!'_

"You'd be surprised how big their egg clusters are! I don't think I've ever seen –"

 _I-I'm probably just feeling mushy,_ Ryuzaki desperately begged himself to believe, nervously fidgeting his hands. _It's probably just been way too long since I've gotten to hear him yap about bugs! … I finally realized I need to be a nicer person and stop insulting people for a change? … I hit my head on my nightstand when I got up this morning and I'm suffering a brutal concussion? Ugh, I don't know!_

"Ryuzaki!" Haga's accusatory tone was so abrupt it made Ryuzaki jump, the bug duelist tugging on his companion's arm to snap him out of whatever train of thought he'd been sucked into. Haga crossed his arms over his chest in agitation as Ryuzaki regarded him with obvious guilt at getting caught daydreaming, the scowl on his face so scathing that Ryuzaki was almost sure he must have blurted his thoughts out loud in his internal embarrassment. "Are you even listening to me?!"

"You were going on about that bug from Africa," Ryuzaki chuckled nervously. "It lays like, a thousand eggs or something?"

"Well I _was_ telling you about its impressive mating dance routine, but when I went to look at you, you were staring off into space and looking at nothing!"

"S-sorry, sorry!" Ryuzaki all but pleaded before he finally took in their surroundings for the first time since he had zoned out. The gate to the Domino Park was just at the end of the sidewalk in front of them, lush green grass and trees already sprouting up amongst the grey concrete that surrounded its outside walls. It would have been a sight for sore eyes if Ryuzaki hadn't been so embarrassed. "I'm just distracted, that's all!"

"Tell me something I didn't know," Haga scoffed, voice still tinged in indignation that his best friend had been tuning out precious information about his newest favorite beetle. The two entered the park and he took in the sights around them, his irritation easing a bit as he was surrounded by scenery that wasn't urban cityscape. "What's got you all worked up, anyways?"

Ryuzaki gave in to his urge to lean down and run his fingers through the grass, its softness helping to curb his nervousness. He tried to come up with something to tell Haga that would sound believable enough to get the bug duelist off his back, and he was almost too relieved when he recalled the piece of information from earlier he had been meaning to share with Haga that could work.

"Well, if you _must_ know, I ran into Seto Kaiba today."

"And?" Haga shrugged, stopping at a park bench to tie his shoes. "That's not exactly big news. I thought you would have realized that Kaiba also went to our high school by now – he does _live_ here, you know."

"No, bug-for-brains! That's not what I meant." Ryuzaki shook his head with a gentle scoff, his previous worries leaving him as he recalled the conversation between Kaiba and his assistant that he had eavesdropped on. "It's what he said when I ran into him that's bugging me."

"Well then?" Haga almost pouted, addressing Ryuzaki with bemused blue eyes. "Care to share with the class?"

"He was busy barking orders at his secretary," Ryuzaki relayed, now fully invested as he watched Haga gaze up at him curiously. "I think he's gonna host a tournament here in Domino City!"

Haga's expression blanched. "W-wait, are you serious? When?"

"He said it keeps getting delayed, but I think he's going to unveil it over summer break!"

"Leave it to Kaiba to capitalize on our vacation time." Haga scoffed, surprising Ryuzaki. "At this rate, I'm never going to get a break from dueling."

"What do you mean? Aren't you excited?"

"If I hadn't been religiously dueling for the last half a year, perhaps I would be." Haga said with a drawn-out sigh, moving to sit on the park bench and prop his head into the palms of his hands. Ryuzaki took the opportunity to sit next to him – he supposed he had figured that Haga wasn't likely to be ecstatic, but he must at least be somewhat grateful for the heads up, right? "Here I thought I would actually get a chance to _relax_ on my break, but I suppose I can't be too surprised. It would be foolish for Kaiba not to take advantage of our summer break to host a tournament."

"At least this time it's going to be a _normal_ tournament," Ryuzaki pointed out. "No God Cards or threats of world domination – are you going to enter?"

"I doubt I'll be given a choice," Haga frowned, shrugging as he set his gaze over the park. The almost picturesque scenery of gentle green hills and numerous trees that dotted the park were now unremarkable to the bug duelist as he contemplated the situation at hand. "It's hardly ideal – I'd much rather participate in a _smaller_ tournament. I prefer to attend and win tournaments that won't have journalists printing my face on the front page of the local newspaper."

"You don't know that it'll be like that," Ryuzaki countered, though his voice wavered as he spoke – he knew well enough that with Seto Kaiba, all bets were off when it came to appearances; tournaments were an especially perfect place for Kaiba to work in within his element to come out on top and show off the vast resources he could expend to make his tournaments as iconic as they were.

"Oh please – I can hear it in your voice that you don't even believe that." The teal-haired boy scoffed, not convinced in the least with how Ryuzaki's voice almost cracked. He quirked his eyebrow as he watched Ryuzaki, a soft frown ghosting over his features. "Don't kid yourself – KaibaCorp tournaments are _always_ a big event. Any chance Kaiba can get to put his face on every television screen in Domino is a chance he's not likely to pass up. I don't want that kind of limelight attached to my dueling prestige yet – it's much too soon."

"Wow, I didn't know you were so serious about toning down your time in the spotlight." Ryuzaki noted. He met Haga's eyes for a moment, returning the frown with an almost concerned one of his own. "Is it really that much of a deal breaker for you? I remember how big your smile was when Pegasus handed you that Regional Championship trophy – and that tournament was filmed all over Japan!"

"If you're allowed to put down your dueling deck _entirely_ , I'm allowed to want to scale back the size of my audiences." Haga rolled his eyes. "The Regional Championship was a long time ago. I'm perfectly fine taking my time to rebuild my reputation by winning local tournaments, but to enter into a KaibaCorp competition and actively participate in a fanfare event of cameras and newspaper articles? And all of that only comes to whoever is lucky enough to win – if I got kicked out in the preliminaries, I'd be a laughing stock again!"

"I guess that does sound pretty major," Ryuzaki relented. "What are you going to do if you're forced to participate?"

Haga sighed at the concept, pinching the bridge of his nose as he thought about the backlash he'd receive from his parents. "Then I'm completely ruined either way. It's only a matter of time until Kaiba unveils the tournament to the public – I'm caught in a waiting game until then."

The two sat in silence as Ryuzaki looked over his companion, frowning at how utterly dejected his demeanor had become. Haga took a moment to compose himself before a realization hit him, wide blue eyes peering at Ryuzaki from behind beetle glasses as Haga asked him, "What about you, dino-brain? Would you pick up your dueling deck again to participate?"

"What, are you kidding?" Ryuzaki shook his head, flinching back at the idea. "No way! I haven't played Duel Monsters in over a year – getting my name back into the ring and getting thrashed by amateurs doesn't sound like a good time to me! You think you're the only one who would be a laughing stock if they entered this tournament and lost before the placement matches?"

"I suppose you're right." Haga shrugged, unable to disagree with Ryuzaki's logic. "I can't say I'm surprised, though I will say it's disappointing to hear."

"What, you _want_ me to join?"

"I didn't say that," Haga frowned, the slight color to his cheeks betraying the quip of his voice. "I'm just saying that if I'm going to be forced to enter this tournament, it would be nice to at least have someone by my side to back me up."

"Back you up?" Ryuzaki paused, giving a gentle frown in contemplation. "I'd make a fool out of myself if I put my name into the tournament and then ended up getting kicked out by some two-bit nobody, Haga. I wouldn't mind pitching in to help you out and make the tournament more bearable for you, but I'd probably be joining you as a spectator."

"I guess it's better than nothing," Haga sighed, cupping his cheeks with the palms of his hands as the two continued sitting on the park bench together. He absentmindedly kicked his feet out from under him and swung them idly, thinking through their current situation. "I suppose you wouldn't exactly be the crowd favorite to win the tournament, anyways. I'd be surprised if you even ranked."

"Tch, thanks for the vote of confidence," Ryuzaki scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "And what if I did, huh? What if I entered and ended up winning the entire thing?"

"To say that I would be impressed would be the understatement of the century," Haga responded with a laugh that sounded more amused than malicious. "You'd make quite the name for yourself – returning to dueling like that just to win a KaibaCorp tournament. I bet Kaiba would be _pissed._ "

Ryuzaki couldn't help but laugh alongside Haga as they both pictured the look on Kaiba's face. "It might be worth it to enter just to see that for myself, to be honest."

"It'd never happen though."

"Oh, ye of little faith."

"I'm being serious!" Haga scoffed. "Anyways, _if_ you entered the tournament and _if_ you got so far, you'd eventually have to duel against me, and I _know_ you wouldn't stand a chance. If some _two-bit nobody_ wouldn't defeat you, I certainly would."

"You sound pretty confident for somebody who doesn't even want to participate," Ryuzaki laughed, brushing off the dig Haga prodded him with. His gaze turned slightly more serious as he addressed the shorter male again. "Why are you even planning to enter, anyways? I've never known you to be _this_ put-out by a tournament, Haga. If you're so miserable, why would you put yourself through that?"

"It's not like I have any other choice, Ryuzaki." Haga sighed. "I know it's been awhile since you've seen my parents, but I assure you – they won't leave any room for negotiation; especially with how prestigious Kaiba's tournaments are. Their entire reasons for wanting my entry are _my_ reasons for wanting to steer clear of the damn thing altogether. I just… I just don't have any other choices."

"I don't know if I believe that. Everyone has a choice, y'know – we might not always make the _best_ choices, but I know you well enough to know that it takes a lot for Insector Haga to just give up and grovel."

"Oh, spare me," Haga all but growled, his eyes narrowing as he looked over his companion. "You're starting to sound like Jounouchi. What, pray tell, could I possibly do in a situation like this?"

"Well, you could start by not comparing me to Jounouchi Katsuya, for starters." Ryuzaki said with a roll of his eyes. As much as he hadn't minded the conversation he had had with the blond, he wasn't anywhere near being okay with being likened to the hotshot duelist. "Besides, how should I know? Whatever you do is entirely up to you. But you can't tell me you have _no_ other options, Haga. Think about it – I haven't dueled for a year, and it's obvious that the thought is kind of freaking me out a little bit. Like you said, it's too soon. But when you said it would piss Kaiba off to see me win – even for a moment – I thought about reentering, just to see the look on his face. Do you know how long it's been since I even _considered_ entering a tournament again? Even if it was just for a second, I still thought about it."

"What's your point?" Haga said, though his posture had noticeably relaxed as he listened to Ryuzaki. The frown on his face was more contemplative now, quirked at the corner of his lips as he addressed Ryuzaki with deep blue eyes.

"I'm saying that if _I_ can consider entering a tournament after all this time, _you_ can consider sitting this tournament out." Ryuzaki said with a small shrug.

"T-that's ridiculous." Haga huffed, though his voice matched the contemplative gaze he watched Ryuzaki with. "How would I even begin to hide that from my parents? Let alone explain it to them when they inevitably found out."

"I'm not sure." Ryuzaki replied honestly. "I just know that whatever you do, I'll be here for you, whether you participate in the tournament or not."

"Oh, don't get sentimental on me." Haga theatrically gagged, his cheeks lighting up in a hot blush of color. Ryuzaki's eyebrows cocked slightly at the display in curiosity, and he sat in silence as he watched Haga intently; the bug duelist still looked contemplative, if not embarrassed. After a moment of deliberation, he piped up again and asked, "Would you really help me out if I needed you to?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Ryuzaki asked seriously. "You're obviously shaken up about this whole thing, and I figure I at least owe that much to you. Of course I would."

"Tch. Thanks, dino-breath." Haga said, blush still hot on his face as he stared anywhere that wasn't at Ryuzaki. "… Maybe you're right. Maybe I should stand my ground and sit this tournament out."

"How messed up is it that this is what we've come to?" Ryuzaki asked jokingly, chuckling to himself. "There was a time we couldn't wait to enter the latest tournament – do you remember getting Kaiba's invite to Battle City? I was so stoked; I could hardly sleep!"

"I think I was less excited about that tournament, honestly." Haga admitted. "If only because I knew that it would be harder to get an advantage without the classified information that I had about Duelist Kingdom's field bonuses. I felt I had no advantage going into Battle City – aside from infecting that punk Jounouchi's deck with my parasite, that is, and even that didn't work out in my favor."

"Even with that info on the playing fields, we still both got creamed." Ryuzaki sighed. "From Battle City, too."

"Those are just two tournament losses," Haga shrugged. "You stopped placing, so they stand out more to you, but I've won so many matches since my reintroduction into the game that they really don't mean that much to me anymore."

"Really?" Ryuzaki asked, finally meeting Haga's gaze. "That's good to hear, I guess. I think I've been psyching myself out, honestly – thinking about losing like that again just totally takes me out of wanting to get back in to the game. If I ever get beaten on turn one by the hands of horse-riding Valkyries again, I think I'd lose my mind."

"Don't even remind me – I refuse to count that as a legitimate loss." Haga growled through gritted teeth. "We didn't even have a chance in that duel."

"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"But Ryuzaki, at that rate you'd never play again." Haga frowned disapprovingly. "That's no way to live your life – you'd never get anything accomplished. It's been a long time since that even happened, anyways."

"Y-yeah, I know. Trust me, my ma gives me that speech like once a month." Deep violet eyes scanned the ground in front of them. "I never planned to _permanently_ retire from Duel Monsters. I just wanted to wait… until it didn't hurt as much, I guess."

"You'll need to work to get there, you know. It doesn't just happen." Haga's voice was almost wistful, bringing Ryuzaki's gaze back to the teal-haired boy as he continued. "If you think it wasn't nerve-wracking – scary, almost – to enter into the first couple of tournaments after my hiatus, you'd be sorely mistaken."

"I guess I figured as much, with how bad I've been putting it off." Ryuzaki sighed. "I dunno…"

"That's at least better than the _'no way'_ you were shouting at me a bit ago." Haga noted. "I think that you would only regret _not_ playing Duel Monsters again, if I'm being honest. Think about it, at least? Like I said; if I'm going to have to participate, I'd rather not do it alone."

"I didn't know you cared," Ryuzaki teased, though he couldn't help but mull over the idea. As much as it scared him to consider stepping out and enter a tournament again – let alone just picking up his deck for the first time with intent to play in over a year – he couldn't help but feel the underlying thrill at the prospect of actively dueling again. "… I'll think about it. But I want _you_ to think about this upcoming tournament then, and what you want to do about it once the announcements have been made and the deadline to enter rolls around the corner. If you really don't want to enter, and you need an out to get your parents off your back, you'll probably need to have it thought up in advance, y'know?"

"Mhmm." Haga nodded seriously. "Trust me, this tournament's going to be a constant nightmare for me until I decide what I want to do."

Not wanting to stay stationary any longer, Ryuzaki got up from the park bench and turned to motion for Haga to join him. The two began their way down the path before them, taking in the sights of the park and continuing in companionable silence. Ryuzaki noted with some degree of relief that the park was relatively quiet today; as far as the weather went, the two had definitely lucked out and went on a good day – the park was sunny and temperate, especially for the late spring months. His mind was racing even as he tried to quiet it and take in the sights before him, a small contemplative frown tugging at his lips as he walked alongside Haga.

 _It might be a constant nightmare for you to think about,_ Ryuzaki thought to himself as Haga excitedly pointed towards a butterfly that landed on a nearby patch of flowers, tugging on Ryuzaki's arm to get his attention. _B_ _ut you're definitely not the only one who's got a lotta thinking to do._

It was almost sundown by the time the boys were finished hanging out for the day, having spent their afternoon walking through the park and going on an impromptu bug-catching exploration at Haga's request. The teal-haired boy hadn't managed to catch anything too interesting after sighting the butterfly he had his eye on, having neither his jars nor his butterfly net to aid him with his endeavors. Ryuzaki's mood had improved significantly since their earlier talk about the tournament, his mind having been taken off of the tournament temporarily by the shenanigans of following Haga as he chased after numerous bugs he had wished to document.

The two were currently walking towards Ryuzaki's apartment before they would have to part ways for the day, the sun making its slow descent in the sky as the two walked side by side. Ryuzaki had been consoling Haga about the earlier butterfly he had spotted that had managed to get away, listening openly as the teal-haired teen lamented at letting such an elusive catch escape his grasp.

"It's just a butterfly, y'know." Ryuzaki's attempts at comfort was mostly falling on deaf ears as Haga only half-heartedly glared at him in return. "There are like, a billion of them… maybe even more than that. You'll get another one!"

"That was a very rare specimen of Gifu butterfly, Ryuzaki!" Haga snapped back in a pitiful wail. "I'm not likely to have another chance like that – I can't _believe_ I forgot my net."

"I can't believe you'd usually have it with you on any other day," Ryuzaki teased. "How is that even allowed on campus? It's not exactly the most portable thing in the world. Don't you smack people with it on accident when you're walking down the halls at school?"

"As if I'd willingly get close enough to anyone else to risk harming my butterfly net." The smaller boy scoffed. "And it's not like I carry it with me everywhere I go. You just never know when the moment will arise where you spot a beautiful specimen and you need your net for an easy capture! I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand – it's not like you can just keep an excavation kit on you when you feel like digging for dinosaur fossils."

"Tch, if only it were that easy." Ryuzaki relented with a laugh. "The only dinos I ever kept on me were the ones in my deck."

Both boys drew into a lapse of lighthearted silence as they continued their leisurely pace alongside each other. Ryuzaki chanced a glance at his companion as the two kept their stride with each other, taking in small details about Haga as he looked over him. His glasses were always almost comically big in Ryuzaki's opinion, taking up such a ridiculous portion of his upper face that Ryuzaki pondered what the bug duelist would look like without them. His nose scrunched up as he tried to picture it, finding the entire image so odd that he couldn't entirely imagine his best friend without his signature spectacles – would he even be recognizable? Ryuzaki imagined that his eyes would likely be much smaller without them on, but that image itself was comical enough to almost make him snort as he thought about it.

"Ryuzaki? You're staring."

"H-huh?" Ryuzaki asked, coming out of his reverie with a small blush at having been caught staring off into space. Haga kept a suspicious eye on him as he tried to play it off, running his fingers through his shaggy brunette hair as he scoffed. "Are you surprised? It's not like there's nothing to stare at. I guess you look more normal without the giant green _beetle jacket_ on, but I think you're the only person I've ever seen with a bug on his glasses who actually meant for it to be there."

To Ryuzaki's utter surprise, Haga laughed at that, subconsciously moving his hand to adjust his glasses as he took the jab in stride. "You're surprised that I still have this design on my glasses? I'm about due to get the prescriptions on these upgraded, actually – I haven't had new lenses in over a year or so."

"Are you finally going to upgrade them to something that makes you look like _less_ of a brontosaurus-sized nerd?"

"You wish, pea-brain." Haga teased. "What's with the sudden interest in my glasses, anyways? You've had seldom to say about them before. I doubt my personal design preferences have suddenly piqued your interest that much."

Ryuzaki shrugged. "It's been a while since I've been close enough to you to look at little details like that, I guess. There's a lot I guess I didn't really remember – the small stuff, y'know?"

"I'd forgotten about the black insignia on the front of your beanie." Haga admitted. "Thank Gods you're not still wearing tassels – you thought my glasses were bad? You were an utter fashion nightmare back then. You at least look presentable now."

"Thanks?" Ryuzaki asked, voice almost cracking at the dig. "I thought they were cool! It's not like I had a lot of outfit choices to begin with, anyways. My old man gave those to me."

"And I'm sure you wore them until they were ragged." The bug duelist laughed before turning his attention to their current attire. "As much as I loathe this uniform and hate having to wear it, I'll admit it's of a commendable quality. The color is quite vivid."

"You're just saying you hate it because that's what Yuugi wore to Duelist Kingdom when he trounced you." The brunette teased. "It's better than any of the other rags in my closet, I'll tell ya that much. I don't like wearing it, though. It completely clashes with my hat!"

"Most sensible clothing does."

"Tch. You're just jealous. My taste in clothing rocks."

"Certainly," Haga snorted. "Who wouldn't want to look like they just walked out of a bad 70's fashion catalog?"

Ryuzaki laughed good-naturedly as the two began to cease their walking, recognizing as they slowed down that the sun was quickly making its descent in the sky and they had once again found themselves at the crossroads where they would have to part ways. "Don't sell me too short – they had tassels in the 80's too."

"Tch. As if that makes it any better." Haga rolled his eyes, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "I suppose I should be heading home before it gets too much later."

"I would invite you to come over to the apartment, but ma's probably headed off to work soon and I know you've been wanting to catch up with her. Maybe you could come over tomorrow? She'd be happy to see you."

"Maybe." The shorter teen nodded in agreement. "But if I come over and I'm bored to death, it'll be your funeral, dino-breath. Is your apartment even unpacked? You haven't been there for too long – it wouldn't surprise me if you still had boxes everywhere as _decoration_."

"I'll have you know we did a fine job of unpacking on our own, thank you very much." The former dino duelist scoffed, sticking his tongue out childishly for good measure. "I don't know how much there'll be to do, though, so don't go planning my funeral just yet."

"I guess I could bring my deck down." Haga offered, eyebrows quirking when Ryuzaki addressed him with a nonplussed stare. "What? I'll have to get ready for this tournament eventually – I might as well start rearranging my deck now. KaibaCorp tournaments always have tough dueling opponents; he throws these tournaments for formidable duelists, not amateurs."

"As long as you're not roping me into dueling with you, I don't mind." Ryuzaki replied awkwardly, not missing the way Haga's eyes lit up as he spoke. "I am _not_ gonna become your dueling partner, Haga."

"Tough words from someone who probably doesn't even remember _how_ to duel." Haga pouted. "What happened to helping me out? I can't practice my deck improvements against _myself_."

"I _meant_ that I would help out by figuring out how you're gonna sit this tournament out." Ryuzaki grumbled, crossing his arms as he matched Haga's pouty posture.

"If you say so." The bug duelist relented. "Now really, though – I need to get home. I'll meet you tomorrow at lunch?"

"Yeah, for sure." the brunette nodded. "Get home safe, Haga. I'll see you tomorrow."

The two exchanged goodbyes before Haga turned away and began his walk home, Ryuzaki staying still as he watched his friend's retreating figure grow further and further away. The former dino duelist stood almost transfixed as he watched Haga's silhouette grow smaller against the horizon, worrying his lip in between his teeth as he became shrouded in thought.

His talk about the tournament had certainly not gone over as Ryuzaki had expected it would – seeing just how unexcited and miserable Haga seemed at the prospect of competing in a KaibaCorp tournament was something he figured he might run into in practice, but witnessing firsthand the extent to which it had vexed Haga was almost unnerving. Ryuzaki could understand his _own_ gripes at the thought of participating in a tournament, but Haga being so downtrodden was such a foreign concept that it almost seemed surreal to the brunette.

 _There was a time when we couldn't wait to get entered into the next tournament that came to town,_ Ryuzaki thought with a frown. _I wonder if bug-guts thinks I'm just as weird for not wanting to participate?_

He figured it to be probable – after all, Haga had seemed hurt that Ryuzaki was so vehemently against competing. The teal-haired teen seemed unusually vulnerable as he had asked for confirmation that Ryuzaki would offer him assistance as a spectator and shoulder of support if need be – when was the last time Haga had ever been so open about wanting someone else's help? Ryuzaki supposed the gesture was comforting in a sense; with how much doubt Espa had put into his mind about Haga's true feelings on the former dino duelist's absence, knowing that Haga still cared enough to want Ryuzaki by his side was immensely reassuring. As much as the thought of picking up his dueling deck unnerved him, the more Ryuzaki thought about it, the more Haga had a point – he couldn't exactly duel against himself to try and ready himself for the tournament, and with how high-profile KaibaCorp competitions were known to be, Haga would likely need all the dueling practice he could get.

Ryuzaki felt a small chill travel up his spine as he thought about actually picking up his dueling deck again, even if it was just in a practice run against Haga. The comment Haga made about Ryuzaki having forgotten how to duel filtered through his mind, the brunette scoffing at the thought in a short laugh. He may be a bit rusty, his deck strategy fogged up in the time since he had last dueled, but Duel Monsters was a game in which any truly skilled duelist could never forget how to play – Ryuzaki was sure he'd be a formidable opponent even with his lack of practice.

His deck had been moved to the top of his dresser after he had finally gotten around to unpacking the box it had been inhabiting, neatly stacked and sleeve protected in the event he'd ever have the courage to attempt playing with it again. He couldn't deny, even with all the trepidation he felt at dueling, the sheer rush that it brought him and the feelings he had been longing to experience again since his life had become mostly monotonous without them. Haga was right; he certainly had come a far cry from vehemently refusing to play Duel Monsters – Ryuzaki would even dare to say he was excited at the idea of getting to battle against his closest ally.

"Tch – it wouldn't be the first time we faced off against each other," He mused to himself as he refocused, feeling slightly self-conscious for still standing in place on the sidewalk lost in thought. _I really gotta stop spacing out today._ Ryuzaki turned and began his way home, thinking about his dueling history and the various defeats and victories he had managed; particularly the few duels he had played against Haga. "If anything, I have a score to settle with him. I hate coming in second place."

It was this train of thought that contentedly kept Ryuzaki preoccupied as he made his way to his apartment, thoughts of Haga and the temptation of rearranging his dueling deck fresh on his mind even after he had entered the living room of his home and closed the door behind him. For the first time in over a year, Ryuzaki made his way to his dueling deck not to stare at it with guilt, but rather to examine his cards and seriously consider something that had been an absolute no-go for the last year of his life – grabbing his deck with the intent to rearrange and duel with it.


	4. The First Spark

If someone had told Ryuzaki back when he lived in Yokohama that he would, at some point in the future, start to make a habit of arriving to school early in the mornings, he would have laughed and called them an absolute basket-case. Ryuzaki himself was surprised that he had even arrived on campus with time to spare - the early morning sunlight filtered through the windows of the high school he was currently wandering through, his gaze unfocused as he clutched the strap of his backpack around his shoulder and made his way to his locker. There was just something so fundamentally _wrong_ to Ryuzaki about the fact that he seemed to actually be trying to change his academic career and behaviors that were so thoroughly ingrained in the boy – that being, his habits of showing up late and doing the absolute bare minimum to ensure he would at least see it to the next grade. That being said, the change of pace was kind of refreshing, and the fact that he wasn't getting any stern lectures from his teachers about bad marks on his reports was an added bonus. He was by no means a model student, but at least his mother wouldn't be disappointed to see his next report card, he told himself.

Ryuzaki felt great. He had slept great, too – after a few hours of going through his deck, revamping it and thinking through new strategies he could utilize in any future duels he participated in, he had the easiest sleep he had gotten since he moved to Domino City. His mother had noted with a degree of relief that Ryuzaki had been in a better mood at dinner, and the dinosaur enthusiast was content to agree with her – going through his deck and finally biting the bullet of confronting his avoidance to Duel Monsters had gone way better than he had anticipated. The sleeved cards were currently sitting in a small deck holder in his backpack; something he had commonly brought with him to school in the past. It seemed so foreign to be packing his deck for school again. He wasn't sure what he even wanted to do with them – challenge Haga to a duel? Show his best friend that he had, in fact, thought over his words and was trying to make progress? – but he refused to let the indecisiveness give him second thoughts about what he was doing.

 _At that rate, you'd never play again._ Haga's words still swirled through his mind as Ryuzaki wandered down the hall. _That's no way to live your life – you'd never get anything accomplished._

Was he right? Would Ryuzaki only regret _not_ playing Duel Monsters again? Ryuzaki figured Haga must have been correct in his assessment of the dino duelist, with how big of a leap he had taken in rearranging his deck and actively bringing it to school with him. He was nervous about the prospect of showing Haga his deck and getting the bug duelist's opinion on his newly added cards – if he were still an active duelist, he would have never let Haga look over his deck lest he learn Ryuzaki's strategies and construct counters for when they battled against each other, but he found no need to keep secrets from his teal-haired companion.

 _I'm just bringing my deck to show Haga,_ he told himself to try and keep his nerves at bay. _It's not like it's a big deal – it's not like I care if he wants me to participate in this tournament or not._

Why was he even nervous? He remembered his mother telling him a few times that being nervous and excited were the same thing, that they were a release of the same endorphins – although she usually told him this when it came to trying to quell his anxieties over something new. She told him that he wasn't nervous, he was just excited, when he was eleven and he was starting his first year of middle school. She told him that when he came to her being anxious about the first tournament he ever placed in when he was twelve. She told him that when he told her he was nervous about moving back to Domino City.

He didn't know if he quite believed her, but it was a comforting thought.

Ryuzaki almost missed the voice that called out his name as he was swamped in thought, coming to with wide eyes as the voice repeated his name. He swept his lavender bangs out of his face as he turned to identify the person, eyebrows quirking up into his thick expanse of purple hair as he recognized the person to be Jounouchi Katsuya. The blond gave him a small wave as he advanced, and Ryuzaki returned it with a more hesitant wave of his own.

"Hey, Ryuzaki!" Jounouchi called, voice cordial enough as he stopped in front of the shorter teen. "I'm surprised to see you here so early."

"You and me both," the dinosaur enthusiast scoffed gently, curiosity getting the best of him as he cocked his head to the side. "I'm not exactly known for my punctual timing, but I guess it's better than being late to everything. What's up?"

"I wanted to catch up with you and see how you were settling in." Jounouchi replied. "This school's pretty big and I've seen you around a few times, but never enough to talk to ya and see how you were finding everything."

"It's definitely a bigger high school than the one I went to back home, but it hasn't been too bad." Ryuzaki shrugged. "I can't complain."

There was a small pause between the two before honey-brown eyes broke contact with violet ones, and Jounouchi looked down to the floor in front of them. Ryuzaki was intrigued. "I see you got back in touch with Haga."

"Yeah," Ryuzaki's voice was nonplussed, but neutral. He tried to keep the edge out of his voice, tried not to be too immediately suspicious of Jounouchi's failing attempt at being nonchalant with the observation, but old habits died hard. People always had a problem with Ryuzaki when they recognized him for being associated with Haga, and warning bells were going off in his head even though he logically knew that Jounouchi wasn't likely to give him too much trouble for something he already knew. "And?"

Jounouchi shrugged. If it was meant to be a casual gesture, it was lost in how tense the air between them seemed. "I figured it was probably gonna happen eventually. You two were always pretty tight – it feels like old times, seeing you both hanging out together again."

Ryuzaki gave a small nod in agreement. "In a sense. He's always been my closest friend."

There was another pause.

"I just wonder… do you think that rekindling that friendship is in your best interest?"

Ryuzaki couldn't help the way his face twisted in a knee-jerk reaction, frown setting in and his eyebrows knitting together. His cheeks flushed with heat as he felt the anger flare up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jounouchi's eyes widened as he saw the immediate change in Ryuzaki's disposition, taking a step back and holding up his hands as a means to placate the former dino duelist. "Woah, hold up – I'm not looking to pick a fight with you. I just –"

"Just what?" Ryuzaki cut in. "Just wanted to ask me about my choice in friends?"

"It's not like that," Jounouchi shook his head. The last thing he had wanted to do was rile the brunette up, but he supposed he hadn't exactly thought through what he wanted to say beforehand. Jumping into situations gracefully wasn't exactly Jounouchi's forte; he had as much tact as a bull in a China shop when it came to involving himself with conflict. "But you can't deny that he hasn't always been the best influence on you, Ryuzaki."

"And what – you think it's your moral duty to come try and save me or something?" Ryuzaki couldn't help the bitterness that seeped through his words. "Since when did you care? If you hadn't noticed, I'm fine. And so is Haga."

"Ryuzaki," Jounouchi all but pleaded, "listen to me. It's not like that."

"Then what is it?" Ryuzaki scoffed

"I just think that you have the chance to really make something good for yourself here." Warm brown eyes tried to reflect the sincerity Jounouchi wanted to convey. "I don't want you to fall back into the same old routines."

"And Haga isn't _something good_ to you?" The few students wandering the halls were staring at them now, some giving only passing glances and some halting their conversations to watch the heated argument arising between the two. Ryuzaki didn't care. "I don't know if you've checked any dueling rosters lately, but he's been doing pretty well for himself even without my help. He's ranking again. I don't think that was ever part of the _same old routine_ we had."

"He's doing well for himself, but what about you?" Jounouchi asked, switching gears. The fact that he had seen Haga's face on dueling rosters around the city hadn't gone by unnoticed, but Jounouchi couldn't say he was surprised. People with a history of stacking their decks usually did well when they had an unfair advantage. "Sure, I've seen his face in local tournaments around town – but I haven't seen yours. And out of the two of you, _you're_ the one without the history of lying and cheating during duels. Haga's never been the best at playing his cards right."

"He told me he's been going straight, and I have no reason to not believe that." Ryuzaki's arms crossed over his chest as he felt the need to defend his friend. What would Jounouchi know about their relationship, anyways? As far as Ryuzaki was concerned, the blond most likely still _believed_ that Haga was dueling unfairly. His tone got gruff as he questioned, "And what would you rather have me do, _Katsuya_? Join you and Yuugi? Leave Haga behind after I finally got back in touch with him?"

"I don't know," Jounouchi replied honestly. "I just know what I _don't_ want you to do. You were so unhappy before, chasing after us and getting all your dreams stomped out of you. I don't want to see you like that again."

"It's been a long time since then, Jounouchi. A lot has changed. I'm doing fine for myself and Haga isn't going to magically change that just because we're around each other again." Ryuzaki finally took the opportunity to open his locker and dump his unneeded contents into it, done with the conversation and done with how riled up he was feeling. He roughly slammed the locker door shut and turned to walk away, looking back at Jounouchi over his shoulder briefly. "Thanks for your concern, but I don't think you have anything to worry about. If this was your way of trying to get me to stop being friends with the only guy who's ever really been there for me when I needed him to be, you didn't do a very good job."

If Jounouchi had anything more to say or was going to attempt to stop Ryuzaki's departure, he didn't. The brunette didn't give him much of an opportunity to either, roughly brushing past a small group of students eavesdropping by their lockers and making his way to anywhere that wasn't there. His previous musings over his deck and his nerves were completely forgotten as he made his way to class, not caring that he'd likely have to sit alone in the empty classroom until the bell finally rang.

Today was going to be a long day.

As the day passed by, Ryuzaki's mood gradually increased, although his mind was elsewhere as he made his way from class to class. As much as he wanted to buckle down and focus on his schoolwork, he kept going back to the matter of Jounouchi Katsuya and whatever problem he had with Haga. He didn't _want_ to think about the blond's words – didn't want to anger and rile himself up into an endless circle of frustration over it – but he couldn't help but be offended on Haga's behalf. He wanted to tell himself that Jounouchi was out of line – that he was talking about things he didn't really understand – but he knew there was at least some validity in his concerns. From Jounouchi's perspective, Haga most likely _did_ seem to be a horrible influence on the brunette. The thought made Ryuzaki chuckle despite himself.

In the breaks between classes, and in the lulls of classroom conversations and Ryuzaki's own spacing out, his mind kept going back to that conversation. He continued thinking about Jounouchi and every interaction that he knew Haga to have had with the blond. He supposed that, given what Jounouchi knew about Haga, he wasn't _wrong_ to be suspicious about the duo's reunion – Haga usually acted as the mastermind of their harebrained schemes with Ryuzaki tagging along and helping him when needed.

Haga also had a nasty habit of cheating, and digging his way under his opponents' skin to get the upper hand when he needed to; and Jounouchi's was an especially easy skin to get under. From what Haga had told him about their Battle City duel, Ryuzaki knew that Jounouchi was bitter about the match – royally pissed, even – when Haga had inserted that parasite card into his deck to gain an advantage during the duel.

Sure, he had ended up losing that match to the blond, but it was the tactful way he had riled up his opponent and caught him off guard with his parasitic strategy that had likely stuck in Jounouchi's mind years after that duel had even occurred.

Thinking back even further, Ryuzaki admitted that Haga tossing Yuugi's Exodia Cards right before Duelist Kingdom wasn't too much of a saving grace for the bug duelist, either. It would only make sense for Jounouchi to regard Haga so unfavorably, even if he didn't mind Ryuzaki nearly as much.

 _But that was forever ago,_ the brunette thought to himself with a frown. _Haga isn't like that anymore._

From everything Ryuzaki had heard his companion say since the two rekindled their friendship, he was actually competing fairly as opposed to his underhanded tactics – he was making a change. Maybe Jounouchi didn't believe him – didn't think he had the capability of turning himself around and winning a match because of skill and not manipulation – but Ryuzaki did.

Ryuzaki had full faith in Haga.

 _I've seen his face in local tournaments around town,_ Jounouchi's voice filtered through his thoughts, the piercing gaze of those honey-brown eyes vivid even in his imagination, _but I haven't seen yours._

He didn't even know why hearing Jounouchi say that had affected him so deeply – it wasn't like he was itching to sign himself up for anything that had come into town as of late, and it was his own decision to put dueling on the shelf and take his hiatus in peace. Even Haga hadn't been able to convince him to enter the tournament Kaiba had been planning to announce during the summer months. Why did it bother him so much, then?

He still considered himself a duelist even after his absence from the game. He still considered himself a _good_ duelist – even if he had garnered a pretty bad losing streak once his luck had turned south, the victories and feats he _had_ accomplished were certainly nothing to scoff at.

Ryuzaki was so conflicted. He wanted to prove that he still had what it took to stand on his own – prove to _himself_ that he wasn't afraid, and that his past didn't define him and wasn't enough to keep him from doing what he had once loved.

But the doubt in his mind still had yet to clear, and he knew enough about Duel Monsters to know that a good duelist's head had to be completely in the game for a them to be successful. He thought of Yuugi's personal mantra for believing in his deck – the _heart of the cards_ – and while that wasn't Ryuzaki's own philosophy on the game, he knew there was some truth to the matter.

A duelist had to entirely trust in their deck, and in themself, in order to succeed.

And Ryuzaki just wasn't there yet.

Why did it matter so much to him, then, if Jounouchi thought he could do better, and what did it matter if Jounouchi had noticed that he had taken a hiatus from dueling? It shouldn't have mattered, but it did.

Ryuzaki sighed. He wished that he believed in himself as much as he believed in Haga.

Lunch period began with Ryuzaki making his way to the cafeteria, mind still clouded with his own thoughts but his energy renewed as he remembered the deck sitting at the bottom of his bookbag. If anything, seeing Haga's reaction to his newly rearranged deck would be enough to further brighten his mood, and the thought of getting to see the look on his face was enough to keep a small smile on Ryuzaki's lips as he made his way to the cafeteria. He entered the crowded lunchroom, looking to where the rest of the students who shared his lunch period were either sitting or standing in line to get their food.

He found Haga where he normally was around this time, sitting at that same lunch table that seemed to be perpetually devoid of other students. If he didn't know Haga personally, Ryuzaki gathered he probably would have found it odd that not a single other student had been brave enough to attempt joining him to eat – Haga could glare daggers into your back even when he _wasn't_ being bothered, and Ryuzaki figured he was probably pretty unapproachable to most other students who were unfortunate enough to catch his gaze.

Ryuzaki chuckled to himself. Such a prickly personality, and _Ryuzaki_ had been the one to crack through that exterior and befriend Haga. The insect enthusiast didn't exactly open up the best, and he certainly wasn't the friendliest – even to Ryuzaki – but he was reliable when he needed to be and he made for good company. He would talk on and on forever about bugs, and he wasn't the most empathetic or polite person in the world. He was notoriously selfish and stuck-up – being an only child, Ryuzaki figured he had never had to share anything in his life, and he wasn't very good with being a comforting presence.

But he was Ryuzaki's friend all the same, and it was obvious that Haga had missed his presence, even if the bug duelist was reluctant admit it. It showed in the way he always wanted to meet up with Ryuzaki after school, and in the way he dogged Ryuzaki about the space between the two before his return to Domino.

Haga looked up and caught Ryuzaki's gaze. Instead of the glare he would have given to any other student, Haga's eyes lit up in recognition and he waved Ryuzaki down from across the cafeteria. Ryuzaki picked up the pace. A smile graced his features as he made his way to his friend.

He tried to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat.

"Hey!" Haga said in greeting as Ryuzaki came to sit across from him at the table.

"Hey," Ryuzaki responded in kind as he set his bookbag down next to him on the bench. He foraged through it for his lunch, fingers gracing over his deck box in his search for the brown paper bag that had probably been squished to death by his books. He ignored the desire to show off his deck to Haga in the interest of eating first – he was absolutely ravenous. His face fell when he finally grabbed hold of his lunch and fished it out, holding up the torn bag and emptying its contents onto the table.

Haga couldn't help but snort as Ryuzaki unpacked a particularly smushed sandwich protected by saran wrap. The poor thing looked absolutely pitiful. "That's just sad."

"Not as sad as the oranges are," Ryuzaki sighed as he peered into the bag. If his cards hadn't been sleeved and kept safely tucked away, he reckoned they would have likely gotten covered in orange guts – the two he packed were squished flat, their juices covering the inside of the bag.

"I have an apple I haven't eaten yet if you're looking for fruit," Haga shrugged nonchalantly. Ryuzaki peered up at him as he fished it out of his lunchbox.

"I'd trade ya for the oranges, but I don't think they'd be worth it," Ryuzaki chuckled, reaching across the table to take the offered apple from his companion. "Thanks."

The two talked as they ate, their conversation light between bites of food and chuckles of laughter. Haga complained about his parents getting on his back for getting a 95 instead of a 100 on his latest biology quiz. Ryuzaki countered by saying that he had gotten a 78 on his most recent assignment – better than he'd previously done with schoolwork, that's for sure – and Haga's face paled at the thought of showing such a low mark to his parents.

There was so many things Ryuzaki wanted to tell him. Even as they laughed, even as they conversed, he wanted to spill everything Jounouchi had told him before school had started. He wanted to tell Haga that Jounouchi called him a bad influence – that he had defended his friend – and that he didn't believe a word that the blond had said. Instead, he kept quiet about it, picking off the crust of his sandwich while Haga explained the fundamentals of bee colonies in excruciating detail.

Ryuzaki patiently waited, nodding at appropriate intervals and scrunching his nose up as Haga harked on about royal jelly and the process of creating a queen. He watched the way Haga's eyes lit up passionately as he spoke – the same look he had gotten when he was explaining that beetle to Ryuzaki the other day and Ryuzaki had thought he was cute.

If he had thought about it for more than a second, he would have come to the same conclusion at the current moment as well.

"Hey, so I know that this is kinda sudden, but I have something I wanted to show you," Ryuzaki had said once Haga was finished with his rant. Digging into his bookbag, he warmed at the intrigued look Haga gave him as the bug duelist leaned forward to get a better view. Ryuzaki's hands clasped around the deck box and he pulled it out, setting it on the table between the two and watching as Haga's eyes glinted with interest.

The bug duelist took the box from Ryuzaki and opened it, eagerly peering inside it with disbelief. Electric blue eyes darted from Ryuzaki to the box, widening as the teal-haired boy rummaged through it and grabbed out his deck. Ryuzaki watched as Haga shuffled through the cards.

"… Your deck. You really went and rearranged your deck?" Haga's gaze met his as he held out a card that hadn't previously been in Ryuzaki's collection. For how reluctant the dinosaur enthusiast had been yesterday about reentering Duel Monsters, the fact that he had gone through his deck was significant. "You even changed up some of your cards; I don't remember this being in there… Ryu, why…?"

Ryuzaki could only shrug as he took the spell card from his awe-struck companion, looking over it with a small smile before he returned it back to Haga's hand. It went back to his deck as Haga continued browsing through it. "It just felt right. You got me thinking about dueling yesterday, and I hadn't really updated my deck since I stopped playing, so…"

"… You added some really powerful cards." Haga admitted. "It looks nice, Ryuzaki. I'm just surprised, is all."

"Yeah, you and me both," Ryuzaki laughed nervously as Haga shuffled the deck. "I thought about what you said. I figured you were probably right, and I got excited thinking about picking up my deck again, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to look through it."

"I'm glad you did," Haga murmured honestly as he placed the shuffled deck back into its holder and slid it back across the table to Ryuzaki. "I brought my deck with me too, for when we go to your place after school today."

Ryuzaki watched as Haga mimicked his earlier actions, reaching into the satchel that sat next to him and grabbing out his own insect-themed deck box. The two boys sat and went through their cards together, empty lunch containers pushed away as Ryuzaki began to inspect Haga's deck. He couldn't help but chuckle – Haga's strategy had changed slightly in his quest to duel professionally, with no room for parasite cards or dirty-handed tactics in sight, but his deck was still so effortlessly _Haga_ even without them that it made Ryuzaki smile. He gazed down at Haga's Insect Queen, his finger rubbing against the sleeve protecting the card where her face was as he admired her.

"Ah, well look at what we've got here! You _both_ brought your dueling decks with you? What's the special occasion?"

Ryuzaki's face instantly soured as he recognized the voice, peering up bitterly as Espa Roba made his way over to the table both boys sat at. Haga's face was much less spiteful, Ryuzaki noticed, and when Espa went to sit next to the teal-haired boy, he actually scooted over to allow his mint-haired friend more room on the bench. The gesture was so unlike Haga that Ryuzaki couldn't help but stare at the display, his eyebrows quirking up and getting hidden under his messy expanse of lavender bangs as he watched them interact.

"Espa!" Haga greeted him, further dumbfounding the dino duelist with how pleasant his voice sounded. "What are you doing here? I thought you had calculus this period."

"I do – bathroom break. I decided I'd see if I could find you and say hi before I had to head back to class." The faux psychic said by way of explanation, peering down at the deck boxes both boys had in front of them. "What are you two doing, anyways? It's been a long time since I've seen you bring your deck with you to school, Haga."

When Espa reached out to curiously open and peek inside Ryuzaki's deck box, the dinosaur enthusiast was quick to grab and move it out of the boy's reach. Espa jumped back slightly at the abruptness of Ryuzaki's movements, mouth quirking into a frown as he watched the brunette teen in front of him protect his deck so fiercely. Both boys exchanged less-than-pleasant glares at each other before Haga answered him, Espa breaking Ryuzaki's eye contact to meet Haga's gaze. "We're just going through our decks."

"And the contents of mine don't concern you," Ryuzaki quipped, voice tinged with irritation. There was just something about trying to grab for another person's deck without permission that felt so _wrong_ to the teen, and Espa's cold steel gaze only further aggravated him.

"Ryuzaki, please." Haga sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes at his companion's overprotective display. "Don't mind him, Espa."

"I already know what's in your deck, anyways, from the last time we dueled," Espa shot back, turning his nose up slightly at the way Ryuzaki's hands were still protectively wrapped around his deck box. "Unless you've changed it up in recent times – but I doubt that you have. There are only so many _dinosaur cards_ in Duel Monsters, after all."

Ryuzaki scowled at the dig. "Don't underestimate me, Roba. Don't you have a _class_ you need to be getting back to?"

"That's enough, both of you." Haga intervened, stern voice breaking the tension as both boys regarded him instead of continuing their staring match. He pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation before exhaling and continuing his conversation with Espa. "There's talk of a new tournament opening up over summer break. Now's as good a time as any to dust off your dueling deck if you're looking to enter and participate."

"A new tournament, huh?" Steel eyes glinted with intrigue. "That does sound interesting. I assume you'll be participating as usual, Haga?"

"Like I'll be given a choice." Haga sighed, though Ryuzaki noted that he didn't go into any further detail as the bug duelist slumped forward slightly, resting his cheek into the palm of his hand.

"And what about you?" Espa asked, turning his gaze to Ryuzaki. His steel grey eyes no longer held the warmth they did when they addressed Haga. "I'm surprised to see you even brought your deck. I thought you quit – it's been a while since anyone's mentioned your name in relation to dueling. You going to participate?"

"I don't see how that's any concern of yours." Ryuzaki bristled, crossing his arms in indignation. "I'm just helping Haga practice for the tournament."

"Oh?" Espa turned his attention back to Haga, further irritating the dino duelist as he watched the civilized way the two conversed. "If you needed a practice partner, all you had to do was ask. I'm going to need to brush up on my dueling skills as well if I plan to enter this tournament. We should duel sometime, Haga!"

Ryuzaki growled, voice tight as he said, "That spot's already taken, thank you very much."

"What's gotten into you?" Haga asked, exasperation making his voice spike in pitch. "You didn't even _want_ to help me practice dueling when I brought it up yesterday."

"I brought my deck with me, didn't I?" Ryuzaki shot back, not missing the way Haga's eyes slightly widened with intrigue at the reply. Both boys on the other side of the table regarded him with curious stares. "I spent, like, three hours going through it last night and updating my strategy. I wouldn't do something like that for nothing."

"I'll admit, I was surprised to see that you did." Haga admitted. Even though Ryuzaki hadn't outright admitted it, the fact that he was pushing back against Espa's offer to help Haga practice dueling told the insect duelist that his words yesterday truly _had_ been thought over – they both knew that Ryuzaki wasn't going to just live with his retirement from Duel Monsters in peace. Even if Ryuzaki's unspoken offer to help was only granted in rebuttal to spite Espa, it was still an offer and Haga wasn't about to let it slip away from him. "That's good, then. We'll see how well you thought your strategy out when we duel after school today."

"T-tch, fine." If Ryuzaki was having second thoughts, he refused to say anything, sulking internally at the fact that he'd been cornered into dueling against Haga almost right away. He tried to console himself that it was only the natural progression of getting his deck rearranged and updated, though he still wished the challenge had come at a later time when he felt more prepared and mentally ready to duel. He turned away slightly in indignation, a blush spreading across his cheeks as he broke eye contact with the duelists sitting across from him. "If you're so eager to lose to me, I guess it's only fair that we duel."

"Oh, please. We'll see if you can even remember how to play, dino-breath. I believe that between the two of us, _you're_ the one who's rusty."

"You'll see who's rusty when I mop the floor with you, bug-guts!"

Espa watched over the two intently from his place on the sideline as they became engrossed in their conversation, his presence almost momentarily forgotten in how caught up they were with each other. He smirked softly at the display – Haga's almost teasing nature and Ryuzaki's indignant, flustered replies in response to the insect lover's prodding. It was certainly the closest thing to a rivalry that Espa had ever seen from Haga – but there was something about the dynamic that intrigued him, and he leaned forward slightly as he watched the two incessantly bicker at each other.

It was obvious the boys cared for each other, in their own weird way that Espa wasn't sure he'd ever entirely understand. It showed in the gentle yet prodding tone of Haga's voice, and in the way that Ryuzaki responded in kind, getting flustered and taking every bit of bait that Haga threw at him without truly getting upset at the pestering.

For all that he had heard about Ryuzaki from Haga, seeing them interact in person was an entirely different experience; Espa himself had only spoken to Ryuzaki on the one occasion when they dueled during Battle City, and as such he didn't have too high of an opinion on the dino duelist, especially once Haga had filled him in on Ryuzaki ghosting off to Gods knows where for as long as he had.

Seeing how open Haga was around Ryuzaki – the way he subconsciously let his guard down to tease the dino duelist without realizing it – and seeing Ryuzaki's adamant stubbornness about helping Haga out in place of a substitute like Espa; it helped to ease the faux psychic's mind about Haga's previous laments on the brunette's absence, and the mint-haired youth nodded once in satisfaction before he remembered himself and pulled out his phone to check the time.

"Shit," He muttered to himself, stopping the two mid-argument as they remembered that they were no longer alone at the lunch table and that Espa was a spectator to their bickering. "I have to get back to class – I've been gone for 10 minutes already. I'll talk to you later, okay Haga?"

"Okay," Haga nodded, scooting over to allow Espa more room to get up as he stood and brushed himself off. "I'll see you later, Espa. Have fun in calculus – and text me later. We need to catch up."

Steel eyes locked with violet ones one last time as Espa addressed Ryuzaki, though Ryuzaki noticed with a fair degree of surprise that Espa's face was significantly less judgmental as he stared the brunette down. The change in demeanor made the dino duelist cock his head as Espa spoke. "If we both do end up in this tournament together, I'll look forward to dueling you and seeing how your deck has improved. See you later, Ryuzaki."

"… Bye."

It was the only thing that Ryuzaki could think to say as Espa turned and walked away, all of his former irritation dissipating as he watched the mint-haired boy's figure retreat. He looked down distractedly at his deck box as the teen exited the cafeteria, silence enveloping the table as Haga considered him with a frown.

"You didn't have to be so mean to him, you know. He is my _friend_."

Electric blue eyes watched Ryuzaki disapprovingly as the brunette looked back up at him. He couldn't help but roll his eyes, scoffing as he retorted, "He started it! Who grabs another duelist's deck without their permission like that?"

"Regardless, you could stand to be nicer to him," Haga sighed as he began shuffling his deck once more, disapproval still tinging his voice. "You definitely owe me a match or two after that – if you're going to try to scare my friends out of practicing with me, then you need to at least take their place. I hope you weren't joking about dueling with me after school just to get Espa off my back."

"I wasn't," Ryuzaki shook his head earnestly. Haga continued shuffling his deck as he peered up at his best friend, an eyebrow arched into the thick expanse of his seafoam green bangs. "Don't get me wrong, I think it's really soon to be dueling, but… I dunno. I was being honest when I said I thought about what you told me yesterday."

"Oh? And what conclusion did you come to?"

"That you were right – I'm only gonna regret not dueling." Ryuzaki shrugged by way of explanation, keeping his gaze down to stop from feeling so scrutinized by those bright blue eyes. "I mean, trust me, I haven't made any plans to start big and enter Kaiba's tournament or anything, but… I thought about it enough to decide that I wanted to reconstruct my deck a little. Test running some duels with you for practice wouldn't be so bad."

"… It means a lot." Haga admitted sheepishly, and when Ryuzaki glanced up to look at him, it was his turn to keep his gaze turned down to the table, occupying himself as he put his shuffled deck back into its holder.

"Did you put any thought into what I said?"

"Hmm?" Blue eyes locked with his inquisitively as Haga tilted his head. "Which part – not entering?"

The dino duelist nodded, and Haga only sighed as he ruffled his fingers through his hair. "I don't know. Even after sleeping on the idea, I still don't want to participate, and I'm sure that's unlikely to change. I just… want a break, Ryuzaki. I _need_ a break from dueling. But I have no idea how I'm going to bring that up to my parents, or what I'm going to do instead. Once they find out the tournament is happening, it's over for me and I'll be signed up whether I want to be or not."

"Is there a way you can fake entry to the tournament and then just not go?" Ryuzaki offered cautiously.

"… I don't know." Haga frowned, though his tone had turned more contemplative as he thought about it. "I would need to be out of the house for all of the times I would be 'dueling', and I'd need a good alibi for my whereabouts during the finals… I'd also need to make up a cover story about my loss; mother and father never actually _attend_ my placement duels, so that part wouldn't be so hard…"

"… It sounds doable." The dino duelist shrugged, hoping that his spit-balling ideas would at least give Haga the motivation he needed to come up with a workable plan. "Maybe it's not set in stone yet, but it's better than just sitting around and waiting for Kaiba to unveil the tournament, right?"

"… Right." Haga exhaled, shoulders slumping forward as he tried to relax. "You're right. This plan definitely has some kinks we need to hammer out, but I think if the circumstances align properly, we might be able to pull this off."

Any reply Ryuzaki was about to respond with was drowned out as the lunch bell rang, violet eyes blinking at the suddenness as he stared up at the PA system that announced that it was time to depart to the next class of the day. The two reluctantly met gazes again as they began to put their belongings back together, putting their deck boxes into their satchels and cleaning the table as they rose from their seats.

"We'll figure this out," Ryuzaki offered as a show of comfort, Haga dumping their lunch remains into a trash bin and rushing to meet up with the brunette. The two walked to the exit of the cafeteria before they would need to part ways, Ryuzaki smiling gently at Haga as the bug duelist returned to his side. "I'll meet you after school, okay? Are you staying for dinner? I'll have to let ma know if you are, so she knows to make enough for you to have some."

"I'll need to clear it with mother before I can promise you anything, but I would love to." Haga replied almost earnestly. "I'll meet you out front by the sidewalk after the final bell rings."

"See ya later, bug-breath."

School had ended for the day with the boys eagerly meeting up at their designated rendezvous point, their paces quick as they made their way to Ryuzaki's apartment. Haga wouldn't say it outright, but he had been curious about the dwelling his brunette friend had been living in since his arrival back in Domino City, and the prospect of seeing Ryuzaki's mother was an added bonus he'd been waiting for since he first expressed the desire to catch up with her again. They finally arrived at the aged apartment complex after having made good time, hopping up the stairs of Ryuzaki's building eagerly. Conversation was still light on their lips as Ryuzaki fumbled with his keyring, though he paused as he concentrated on working the aged lock properly.

Ryuzaki pushed open the door to his apartment with a small grunt after finally having managed to work the rusted lock open, stepping into his abode and taking his shoes off with a satisfied sigh. Haga was quick to follow, entering the apartment with wide eyes as he scanned the living quarters in front of him and judging it accordingly. He tried to stop the way his nose wanted to curl at the slightest hint of must that ruminated throughout the apartment – something that Ryuzaki was probably nose-blind to by now, from having gotten used to the smell – and he followed Ryuzaki's lead and took his shoes off, eyes darting around at the off-white walls and the worn couch that took up space as the main hangout in the living room area.

It was small, and a little dingy, but it was leagues better than the old trailer park Ryuzaki and his family used to inhabit, and for that, Haga simply kept the judgments he usually would have been more than happy to share with his dino-enthused companion to himself as he continued to look around and take in all he could. His expression slightly soured when he saw edges of the curling wallpaper in the kitchen, but he refused to let that deter him from being anything less than supportive. Well, that is, as supportive as Haga could be when staring at a slightly stained carpet and a messy living room table.

"… It's nice."

Ryuzaki laughed at that, his chortle loud and genuine, as he slipped off his backpack and reached inside to grab out his deck box. "Awww, c'mon Haga. I saw the look on your face! You're a terrible liar."

"I-I'm not lying!" Haga refuted indignantly, cheeks puffing out slightly as he defensively crossed his arms over his chest. "It's definitely nicer than the trailer."

"Living in a _cave_ would have been nicer than that piece of junk," Ryuzaki replied with a chuckle as he recalled the dingy home he used to live in while his father had still been in the picture. He couldn't help the amused smile that grew wider on his face as he remembered the various times Haga had visited, and how uncomfortable the shorter boy had been every time. "For someone who likes bugs so much, you'd think you would have cooler about the cockroaches. Remember that one you saw in the kitchen? I thought you were going to faint."

"It was the principle of the matter, Ryuzaki!" Haga shuddered with a roll of his eyes as he made his way to the couch and sat down. Swift hands went to rummage through his backpack before they procured his deck box, and Ryuzaki followed him to help clean off the living room table so Haga would have a place to spread out his cards. "Do you know how _disgusting_ your living conditions have to be in order to get _cockroaches?!_ Having an affinity for insects has nothing to do with recognizing how utterly _revolting_ that trailer was. Besides, I like my insects kept safely _inside_ terrariums and not scuttling around my feet on the kitchen floor, thank you very much."

With a small space on the table cleared for Haga, the teal-haired boy opened his deck box and began shuffling through his cards. Ryuzaki moved to grab a garbage can so he could throw away some fast-food wrappers that hadn't yet been tossed, calling over his shoulder, "You lived, didn't you?"

"Yes, and I'm fortunate enough to _never_ have to visit there again."

Returning and finishing clearing off the table, Ryuzaki could only chuckle as he watched Haga spread out his cards, methodically categorizing them as he went. "Damn straight. The shower here doesn't even have mold. It's a godsend, I tell ya."

"Charming." Haga's face soured at the thought. "I knew there was a reason I never liked stepping foot into that bathroom. Oh – mother said I was cleared to stay for dinner, by the way."

Ryuzaki set the garbage can aside and went to sit on the floor on the opposite side of the table from Haga. Ryuzaki took a moment to look at his companion and the cards in his hand before opening up his deck box and giving his deck a final once-over. Trying to push down his nerves, he shuffled his deck and set it down on the table, thinking over his strategy and the various ways he could picture game going. Feeling satisfied with his choice in cards, he watched as Haga fidgeted with his. "Good! Ma should be home soon – she took an early shift this morning instead of an overnight one. I let her know you'd be coming over earlier."

"Wonderful," Haga replied sincerely, a small smile gracing his lips; he'd never openly admit it, but she had always been so kind to him that Haga had missed her presence almost as much as Ryuzaki's. The two took a moment as Haga finished getting his deck set up, digging through his satchel once he was done to grab out a notepad. He inked their starting Life Points onto the sheet of paper and set it to the side where both boys would be able to keep score as the duel progressed. "Are you ready? … Relax, I can see how tense you are. You can have the first move."

"I'll be fine," Ryuzaki nodded in confirmation; Haga must have been in a good mood if he'd willingly offered to give Ryuzaki the starting play. "Just dueling nerves. Let's duel!"

Both boys drew their hands, Ryuzaki's heart skipping a beat as his eyes scanned over the cards he held. After a moment of reviewihng his cards, he set down a spell card and his Anthrosaurus in Attack Mode before ending his turn, looking up to watch as Haga mimicked him and drew two cards – though he put his Monster card face-down. Focused eyes scanned over his hand, loving the familiarity of the sleeved cards he held.

"… You're taking forever. Are you _sure_ you haven't forgotten how to duel?" Haga spoke up after a long pause of waiting, breaking Ryuzaki's concentration as his violet eyes shot up from his cards to watch his companion speak. The brunette's nose scrunched up at the gentle reprimand Haga gave him, sticking his tongue out as he saw the almost bored look the bug duelist regarded him with.

"Shut up – I'm thinking. Gotta get my strategy going," Ryuzaki hissed, setting down another card face-down and ordering his Anthrosaurus to attack Haga's Monster card. When Haga flipped his card to reveal it as the Skull-Mark Ladybug, Ryuzaki swore under his breath, brow furrowing as he watched Haga add it to his graveyard.

"Thank you for the extra 500 Life Points," Haga chuckled as he inked in his new score, drawing a new card and summoning his Flying Kamakiri #1. Ryuzaki only sighed as it destroyed his Anthrosaurus, taking the pen from Haga's side of the table and writing down in his own new score to reflect the loss.

"Don't rub it in," He mused, though it was far too early for him to take Haga's teasing to heart.

The duel progressed with both boys relatively evenly matched, conversing lightly in between destroying opposing Monsters and activating each other's trap cards. Ryuzaki quickly found himself easing back into the game as he played with Haga, a small smile on his lips at the familiarity of the challenge and just how natural it felt even after how long he had gone without playing. It was such a relief after how long he had gone on stressing himself out about picking up his deck and dueling again; even Haga seemed to be in a better mood than Ryuzaki usually saw him in while they dueled.

 _A better mood_. The thought was peculiar to Ryuzaki as he intently watched every move Haga made. _There's something about this duel that's so different from the ones I've played against him before._

Violet eyes widened slightly as he suddenly realized why – without his underhanded tactics and usual pointed insults Ryuzaki had become accustomed to, Haga was both more strategic in his moves and much more fun to play against.

Ryuzaki chanced glances up at Haga every now and again in between moves, watching the various expressions he had as he dueled. No longer was his mouth downturned in that signature sneer he usually wore during a challenge, nor did he look angry whenever he lost Life Points or had to send a beloved Insect Monster to the graveyard – no, his deep blue eyes were concentrated and calculating as they scanned the cards that he drew, only smiling to himself when a strategy he planned out worked or inking in his slowly decreasing score onto the paper without much fuss.

 _He's even better clean-cut than he is when he cheats,_ Ryuzaki thought to himself in awe, thinking back to Jounouchi's earlier comment about Haga's murky dueling history. The contrast was so stark that Ryuzaki could only watch with bated breath, getting thoroughly invested in the game and the challenge that Haga presented him with.

If Haga had noticed Ryuzaki's staring, for once he hadn't commented on it. Ryuzaki turned his attention back to the duel to make his next draw, and the match continued on without another thought on the matter. Both boys took turns inking in their scores to reflect whenever they lost Life Points, and after few turns Haga had gotten into a tight bind. Ryuzaki had summoned his Megazowler on the field and nothing Haga had in his hand was powerful enough to defeat it.

"So, you've seen my place; when do I get to see yours?" Ryuzaki had asked to break the stretch of silence as Haga drew his next card, the bug duelist's expression tense as he scanned his cards for anything strong enough to beat Ryuzaki's monster. "I bet it's fancy – Domino's residential neighborhoods are always _loaded_ with nice homes."

"I think you mean stuffy, not fancy. And why, so you can come over and wreck the place?" Haga teased as he put his Winged Cleaver into Defense Mode, hoping to at least protect his Life Points while he stalled for a better solution. "I'll have to clear it with mother and father, but it shouldn't be an issue. You'll be sure to liven the place up, that's for sure – you'd barely even notice that anyone lived there with how quiet it is. I don't think my parents have ever even _heard_ of music."

"Oh, I'm sure _that'll_ go over well – bringing me over to get the party started," Ryuzaki frowned as his Megazowler attacked, trying not to sound too bitter. It was no surprise to the brunette that his best friend's rather judgmental personality ran prevalently in his family, and Haga having to ask for permission just to have the dino duelist over bothered him. In all the times he'd known Haga, Ryuzaki was certain that his parents disdained the fact that their son associated with him – they were certainly a far cry from the warm, comforting parental figure that his mother was. "Your folks will be ecstatic to see me wandering around the place – do they even know we're talking again?"

"There's a lot that they don't know about me," Haga sighed cryptically as he moved his Winged Cleaver to the graveyard, frowning as he drew his next card. Ryuzaki's eyebrow quirked curiously at the sullen demeanor, Haga only shrugging as he laid another Monster card in Defense Mode. "No, I haven't told them yet – not because I don't want to, or because I think they'll react negatively, mind you. I rarely get the chance to talk to them about anything that isn't 'hobby' related – not that it matters much. They're almost never home; always away on business matters nowadays. I swear, it feels more like I'm coinhabiting the house with them than living there because I'm their son. It's your turn, dino-brain."

"That's depressing," Ryuzaki admitted bluntly as he drew his next card, frowning as his pull granted him nothing extraordinary. He set his Megazowler up to destroy another one of Haga's Monster cards as he mulled over the bug duelist's words. He could remember Haga's parents being away relatively often when the two had last been in contact with each other; business trips and late nights at the office made for the perfect venue for Ryuzaki to stay the night as often as the two could get away with. He made a mental note to ask about the possibility of a sleepover sometime after their match had ended, too caught up in their duel to bring it up at the present moment.

"It's preferrable to the alternative – if they're working, they can't pester me about dueling or furthering my entomology studies. I mean, seriously – who pressures their child to prep for graduate school when he hasn't even graduated from _high school_ yet?!" Haga responded exasperatedly, though his demeanor improved as he drew his next card. Electric blue eyes glinted from behind his spectacles as he exclaimed, "Ah! Finally, the card I need – I play my Larva Moth!"

Ryuzaki's eyes widened as Haga threw his bug onto the field, swiftly switching it out with his Cocoon of Evolution. The dino duelist's demeanor was now the one to plummet as he saw his opposition on the opposite side of the table. "Oh, no way! Haga!"

"You have five turns until my Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth hatches – your time in this duel is running out." Haga cackled. "Make your next move, Ryuzaki!"

Ryuzaki groaned as Haga only smirked at his misfortune, obviously pleased by the way that Ryuzaki intently scanned his cards before roughly drawing another to add to his hand. He looked down at the field helplessly – his Megazowler wasn't quite tough enough to crack the cocoon Haga had just placed down, and nothing in his hand would help him get the advantage. He placed down a spell card to supplement his side of the field, anxiety growing in the pit of his stomach as he felt the timer tick down to the Great Moth's arrival.

The next few turns went by unbearably, with Ryuzaki drawing nothing that would help him get his upper hand back and Haga's grin only widening as he continued to defend his side of the field. By the time his Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth hatched and made its grand entrance, Ryuzaki could only watch in despair as it wiped out his Megazowler and took a huge chunk out of his Life Points. Haga inked their updated scores in as Ryuzaki ran his fingers through his shaggy brunette hair. He drew another card and only groaned in desperation – another turn with nothing to show for it that could save him.

Both boys were suddenly pulled from the depths of their match as the front door opened, Ryuzaki smiling at the sight of his mother as she made her way inside the apartment. Haga took the opportunity to place another attack with his Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth, wiping out the rest of Ryuzaki's Life Points before he properly turned to address his companion's mother. Ryuzaki stuck his tongue out at Haga as the teal-haired boy said his hello, before they both started to pack up their decks.

"Hey, ma," Ryuzaki called out in greeting. "How was work?"

His mother was occupied with putting her coat up and slipping off her shoes, calling out a generic, "Hi boys! It was okay," before she turned around and caught sight of both teens sitting at the table with their cards still splayed over its wooden surface. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the sight before her – to say she was surprised to see that Ryuzaki was dueling againYone would have been a massive understatement, and the grin she gave in response to the boys in front of her livened up her tired features. "Oh, my! What do we have going on here?"

"We just finished up a duel," Ryuzaki admitted sheepishly as he placed his deck back in its holder. Haga would have been more willing to argue about only having gotten to play one round against Ryuzaki, but the presence of his mother's arrival home and the knowledge that dinner would likely be started soon was justifiable enough to put an early stop to their duels for the night.

"That's wonderful!" She said, her voice ecstatic. "And Haga, it's good to see you! How has your family been?"

"They've been alright," Haga replied cordially, features relaxed as he slipped his own deck back into its holder and returned it to his school satchel. "Ryuzaki tells me you've taken a job at the Yonezato Hospital! How has that been treating you? It's wonderful to see you again as well."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Ryuzaki's mother said, laughing softly as she made her way to join them both and sit on the couch to unwind. "The hospital has been busy, though I won't bore you with the details."

Ryuzaki was content to sit back and watch as the two caught up; Haga always made it a point to be polite to the few figures in his life that he actually respected, and watching these sorts of rare interactions had always been fascinating to the brunette. It was a side of Haga that he shared with very few people, and Ryuzaki's mother took it in kind, no doubt relieved and ecstatic that her son had reconnected with _and_ brought home the bug duelist he had been so close to in the past.

They chatted about how their days went as Ryuzaki's mother relaxed into the couch, Ryuzaki piping in at appropriate intervals to interject with an anecdote of his own or to ask questions about his mother's shift. The apartment had a lively yet comfortable air to it as they conversed, occasional laughter brightening up the small apartment space.

They spent the next few minutes like that until Ryuzaki's mother excused herself to get washed up, asking both boys what they were in the mood for to have for dinner and Haga extending an invitation to help her in the kitchen should she need assistance.

"I'm thinking that a nice plate of curry would do us good," She stated after coming back from washing her hands, smiling at the pleased expression both boys regarded her with. "If you boys wanted to help me dice up the potatoes and bell peppers, it would be much appreciated."

"Bell pepper? Yuck!" Ryuzaki couldn't help but stick his tongue out, knowing his mother was adding it to the dish because of Haga's vegetarian tastes. The boys followed her into the kitchen and began readying themselves to begin peeling and dicing. "You can help yourself to all of mine, bug-breath."

"Bell peppers are delicious – it's not my fault you have such poor taste in food," Haga had quipped back playfully as they all eased into their respective roles, companionable silence sweeping over the kitchen as they began prepping their meal. Ryuzaki regarded the kitchen with a final glance before he got to work grabbing out the sack of potatoes from the pantry, watching his mother prepare her rice maker and catching Haga cleaning the bell peppers in the sink. A small smile graced his features as the display in front of him felt so natural – the easygoing atmosphere that had been established between Ryuzaki and his mother had always been lovely, but having Haga around once more had made everything feel like it had back before they had lost contact with each other.

Ryuzaki blinked, remembering himself and getting self-conscious that he was developing such a bad habit of staring off into space. Even as he resumed grabbing the potatoes and beginning the process of peeling them, one thought ruminated through the dino duelist's mind, reminiscing in the contented atmosphere of their small workspace in the kitchen.

If having Haga around again meant that his home would be like this once more – in that companionable sort of way that Ryuzaki hadn't fully realized just how much he had missed – it was definitely something that he could get used to.

Dinner passed by without incident and plenty of laughter from the group as Haga and Ryuzaki got into their usual theatrics and bantering, easy conversation and a general sense of ease settling in until dinner was finished and Ryuzaki's mother had to turn in for the night. She had called a goodnight over her shoulder to the boys as she left for her bedroom, telling Haga that it had been lovely to see him again and that she hoped he would be visiting more often. Haga had returned her sentiments and promised her that she would see him over soon enough, and the two teenagers went to watch a movie on the small television in the living room while it was still early enough in the evening to finish it.

They had bickered over which movie they would be subjected to watching this evening, Ryuzaki finally winning and slamming Jurassic Park in the DVD player under his protests of, "I'm the host and I get to pick the movie!" Haga had whined about having seen the Jurassic Park movies with Ryuzaki about a hundred times already, his demeanor not comforted by the brunette's nonchalant reply of, "What's wrong with that? Those movies rock!"

"Or so you've told me every _single_ time you put it on – I haven't seen this movie in a year and I'm _still_ sure I can recite it word for word! I told myself that if I ever had to watch it again in this _lifetime_ , it'd be too soon!"

"Wait, seriously?" Ryuzaki chuckled, eyebrows quirking good-naturedly as the two settled onto the couch together. The dinosaur enthusiast used the remote to ensure the television was at a reasonable volume as to not disturb his mother before he turned and grabbed at a blanket that had been spread over the back of the couch. Ryuzaki wrapped himself in it and snuggled into its warmth. "You should see if you still can! I bet your dinosaur roar is awesome!"

"Not likely," Electric blue eyes rolled behind thick lenses before he frowned at the display in front of him. The starting credits for the movie began to play as Haga disapprovingly reached for the blanket. "And give me that blanket! Don't be selfish – your apartment is freezing."

Ryuzaki started to protest as Haga grabbed at the edge of the blanket, his misunderstanding of the bug duelist's words apparent as the shorter teen moved not to steal the blanket from him, but to move under it and join Ryuzaki under its fluffy expanse. Protests died on the brunette's lips as Haga scooted closer to him.

Their thighs touched underneath the blanket – a small point of contact that normally wouldn't have even registered to the dino duelist who now sat peering at the blanket they were tucked under, barely even paying attention to his favorite movie's exposition as it flashed in front of them on the television screen. When he looked up at his companion, he caught sight of Haga's side-profile, the bug duelist for once more engrossed in the movie than Ryuzaki was. He watched Haga for the smallest moment like this, entirely candid – the way his features had softened as he kept his gaze on the screen in front of them; the way the glow of the television screen painted his seafoam green hair and pale skin vivid shades of blues and reds instead.

Ryuzaki didn't quite get why his heart skipped a beat.

He didn't stop to think about it either, breaking the moment of examination to turn his attention back to the television.

The movie went by as predictably as ever for two boys who had seen it more times than they could count – Haga made a show of reciting some of the scenes he knew by heart in order to prove a point to Ryuzaki, although the dinosaur lover thought it was too awesome of a display to understand _why_ Haga didn't find it nearly as endearing as he did. During a lull in the action, Haga had scooted closer to converse with his best friend, keeping his voice low enough to not entirely take Ryuzaki out of the movie.

"You know, I'm pleased that you actually dueled against me today, dino-breath. I didn't know if you had it in you or not – I was worried you'd back out after you reconsidered your offer to help. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that you proved me wrong."

"What?" Ryuzaki blinked, the comment catching him completely off guard as he turned away from the movie entirely to catch Haga's gaze instead. _So much for not distracting him too much from the movie,_ Haga thought to himself with a small frown. "You really thought I was gonna back out? I didn't know you cared that much to be glad that I didn't."

"Tch, don't flatter yourself. I don't," The bug duelist pouted, trying to keep his expression neutral as he crossed his arms under the blanket. "You just sounded completely flustered talking about getting back into dueling is all. You did well, considering how long you'd gone without playing – it'll take you a long time to get your head back in the game entirely, but you exceeded my expectations, dino-brain."

The fact that the bug duelist was attempting to give him a compliment – however botched it may have been in how alien it was for him to do – made Ryuzaki chuckle. He thought back to his earlier observations about Haga's performance, not knowing if now was the right time to bring up what Jounouchi had told him and how he had been pleasantly surprised by Haga's clean-cut dueling. He decided not to comment on it when those bright blue eyes made contact with his again, the words lost on his lips as he only muttered, "Gee, thanks. I would have _hated_ to disappoint you."

"How did it feel?" Haga asked, Ryuzaki tilting his head in silent questioning. "— Dueling again, I mean. You put up a pretty good fight about not wanting to originally, but once you changed your mind you seemed to fall back into it pretty naturally."

"It wasn't as bad as I was expecting… it was actually kind of fun," Ryuzaki admitted sheepishly, hoping Haga wouldn't take too much pride in the fact that he had been right. "I'm glad I did it – having you as my first opponent to ease me back into the game was way less nerve-wracking than I was thinking it'd be. I guess I was kind of expecting my first duel to be some big winner-takes-all type of deal – probably from too many nightmares about losing my soul to that damn Seal of Orichalcos, y'know?"

"Oh, don't remind me," Haga shuddered before switching gears to keep himself from thinking about that glowing neon seal for too long. "I think that's a recurring thing for you – you keep psyching yourself out and then you realize that things aren't as bad as you anticipate them to be once you finally get over your fears and just do the damn thing. You did it with your talk of dreading the move back to Domino, and when you were overthinking what Jounouchi told you about your _new_ _beginning_ – and you did it again with psyching yourself out of Duel Monsters."

"What's your point?" Ryuzaki replied, though his tone was questioning rather than accusatory.

"My _point_ is that you finally picked up dueling after a year's hiatus, and the world didn't end. You didn't lose your soul or get stuffed into a trashcan by some hotshot nobody who hates your guts – you were completely fine."

"… I guess you're right."

"Of course I am. I just wish you hadn't changed your mind because you wanted to one-up Espa." The bug duelist replied bluntly, eyebrow quirking accusingly as Ryuzaki regarded him with a nonplussed stare.

"What? _That's_ why you thought I agreed to challenge you?! Haga, it was _not_ to one-up Espa!" Ryuzaki's voice was entirely exasperated. "Don't get me wrong; him butting in to try and help you just to show me up was annoying, but I had already agreed to duel with you before he even came along, and that wasn't going to change."

"You are so paranoid," Haga sighed. "I'm _sure_ that Espa's goal wasn't to _show you up_ – are you even hearing yourself? Did you consider the fact that maybe he offered to help me out because he's my _friend_? I'm going to need the practice if I _do_ enter this competition, and no offense, but I don't think a single other duelist in Kaiba's tournament will be playing with a _dinosaur deck_."

The brunette shuffled to get the blanket further over him in lieu of not quite knowing what to say in response, wanting to make a retort about his deck being awesome but not quite finding the words to. There was a moment of silence before Haga piped up again, his voice cautious. "I don't want you to misunderstand me, Ryu – I'm _happy_ that you dueled with me, and that it was a fun experience for you. I guess I'm just still surprised. When you pulled out your deck box at lunch, you caught me entirely off guard. You had said that you were thinking about dueling with me, and that you had thought about what I had said the day prior at the park, but I thought it was moving way too fast for you to… actually mean it, I guess."

"Well yeah, everything kind of _did_ move really fast – especially when you set our duel in stone today after you called my bluff." Ryuzaki frowned in contemplation, desperately trying to get Haga to understand. "But Haga, that doesn't mean I accepted your challenge _just_ because I wanted to show Espa up. _You_ were the entire reason I said yes to dueling with you again – the _only_ reason I said yes, Haga."

Bright blue eyes flashed behind thick lenses, Haga's retorts growing quiet on his lips as he watched Ryuzaki intently. There was a moment between the two, as if Haga were expecting something, and when Ryuzaki failed to speak up, Haga did in his place. His voice was soft; a rare tone of voice for the green-haired youth indeed – Ryuzaki almost missed the bug duelist asking, "…Oh?"

"… You asked me if I would help you. And I said yes." Ryuzaki shrugged, hoping that the flashing colors from the television set would help to hide the flush of warmth he felt from the prolonged eye contact with Haga. He missed Haga's reaction when he turned his gaze down to the blankets between them, his companion's lips quirking into a small frown as the green-haired teen gave an inaudible sigh and collected himself. "And then when you asked me if I would help you duel, I kind of freaked out about it and said I'd just be a spectator. But you can't practice with a spectator, and you can't duel against yourself for practice, so… you were right. I just needed to bite the bullet and try it again."

There was a tense pause. When Ryuzaki met Haga's eyes again, he was surprised to find the bug duelist shying away from the eye contact, his gaze fixed on the table they had dueled on top of. The moment had passed with the silence drawing on until the shorter teen nodded, Haga's demeanor pepping back up as he stated, "Of course. And we've established that dueling isn't as terrifying as you thought it would be. So, I suppose the question now is, will you continue to help me practice dueling?"

"Of course," Ryuzaki nodded, the heat fading from his cheeks as he chuckled. "But if you keep beating me the way you did today, you might just plain _discourage_ me out of playing Duel Monsters, Haga. That Great Moth was an entirely different beast to take on."

"Well, I should certainly hope it was! I'm not going to go _easy_ on you just because you agreed to practice with me." Haga retorted, pride coloring his words as he gave a self-assured snort. His gaze softened after he had taken the ego boost, his next words far kinder as he continued. "Besides, for your first time, you did great – you really had me on the ropes for the last few turns before I drew my Larva Moth. If I hadn't gotten my Cocoon of Evolution onto the field and stopped your Megazowler's rampage, I'm sure I would have been done for."

"I was really holding out for my Black Tyranno to really reign supreme," Ryuzaki laughed. "I'll get you next time with it, though."

Their conversation grew to its natural conclusion as Haga turned his attention back to the movie in front of them, though so much time had passed by in their talking that they had missed a good portion of the best action sequences. After a moment of watching the screen in silence together, Ryuzaki turned his gaze back to Haga curiously, watching as the bug duelist attempted to become reinvested in the movie. The brunette contemplated what it was that made him feel like saying something more to his companion, before he gave up whatever he had been searching for and turned his own gaze back to the plot.

Haga's phone had, at some point during the remaining action and death scenes left in the movie, vibrated from its spot in his pocket that had been resting against Ryuzaki's thigh. The boys jumped at the abrupt sensation before Haga reached down and took the call he knew to be from his father, stepping outside the apartment as he answered it in order to hear him over the movie's screams and dinosaur roars. When he had returned to the living room, Ryuzaki was unsurprised to hear that Haga's parents were on their way to pick him up and that he'd be leaving soon.

The brunette had turned off the movie early as the two moved to help Haga collect the rest of his belongings, ensuring that nothing of importance was left behind at the apartment. Ryuzaki had thanked Haga for coming over for the evening and gave him a promise to meet up again at school the next day, smiling broadly as Haga had returned the sentiment. They spent the rest of their time together in waiting, and Ryuzaki had bid Haga a farewell after his father had called again to announce his arrival. The brunette moved back to the couch as his companion exited the apartment and peered down at Haga from the front window to make sure he got down the stairs safely, smile still eased on his features as he watched his friend open the car door and enter the expensive vehicle that he remembered to belong to Haga's dad.

He stayed there on the couch until long after the vehicle had driven away, not even watching the parking lot anymore as his eyes lost their focus and he slipped into deep contemplation.

He thought back to Haga, wide-eyed and quiet next to him on the couch – the silence that grew between them in that single moment before they had finished their conversation and went back to watching the movie like everything was normal.

Ryuzaki couldn't figure out for the life of him why it felt like there were words left unspoken in that moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! A few notes here because I felt the need to talk about a few things: 
> 
> 1\. Jounouchi and Espa don't have antagonistic parts to play in this story, I promise. If they seem a bit tense now, it's because I'm setting them up to further certain revelations and plot points in the story.  
> 2\. Haga has his Insect Queen because, even though he lost one to Jounouchi in Battle City, he duels with an Insect Queen against Zigfried von Schroeder and I just think he would be the kind of duelist who would go buy like 10x of them because he loves her so much.


	5. Shattering like Lacewings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! It's been a hell of a month, and 16k+ words later, I'm finally here with an update! For any of you who were wondering where I've been, I promise to you this story hasn't been abandoned; I'm constantly updating and refocusing the plot of this story, and alongside starting a new job, my attention has been divided.
> 
> But, luckily, I finally polished this enough to be satisfactory and I'm happy to have it rolled out! Chapter 6 is still in its rough-draft stage, but it's probably over halfway written at this point and just needs to be finished and polished before it comes out.
> 
> In other news, thank you so much for 100+ hits on this story!! I am so happy and so grateful to everyone who's been giving it a read; the kudos and comments mean so, so much to me! They are truly the glue that holds my inspiration together. I reward you with Chapter 5, which is a bunch of angst and foreshadowing. Please enjoy!!

Lunchtime couldn’t have come fast enough for Ryuzaki.

 _I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I ate breakfast before I left the apartment this morning – I should_ not _be this hungry,_ the brunette thought miserably to himself, his brow furrowed in agitation as he made his way to the cafeteria to join up with Haga. His mind was abuzz with thoughts of his growling stomach and the upcoming assignments due during his history class next period as he walked down the hall amongst his other classmates, his free hand resting over his stomach which refused to quit growling.

If he had been so inclined, he would have been more tempted to stop and fish his ramen out of the lunch sack he currently kept clenched in his right fist and just eat it right there in the hall, but he knew it would be hard to balance the bowl and chopsticks while walking and he didn’t want to risk dropping or spilling any of his food in the process. Ryuzaki was sure that if he wasted the only meal he brought with him to his own clumsiness, he would have lost his mind entirely – not to mention the teasing he would have had to inevitably endure from Haga once the bug duelist had learned that he had dropped his lunch before getting the chance to properly finish it.

It had been a long day, and the dinosaur enthusiast was _ravenous_ – could this crowd move any slower? He had somewhere to be, for crying out loud! Ryuzaki wrinkled his nose in distaste before turning his thoughts back to his lunch, once more considering the prospect of just eating it on the way to the lunchroom and sparing himself another moment of feeling his stomach turn in its emptiness. Even though the thought was still tempting even in his own dissuasion, he wasn’t desperate enough to actually do it, blinking and glancing down in irritation as his stomach growled loudly again.

“Shut up,” Ryuzaki mumbled despairingly at his abdomen as he rubbed his hand over it for emphasis, not caring that he had been driven to the point of begging his own body to stop reminding him just how hungry he was. A student he had been keeping pace with gave him a strange look at the quiet remark he had made to himself before speeding up to walk ahead of him; an obvious attempt to distance himself from the brunette.

_Tch. Asshole._

Ryuzaki stuck his tongue out childishly and muttered some choice words underneath his breath at the display, frowning before remembering himself and blushing at the fact that he was so irritable in his hunger. Memories of Haga calling him _food motivated_ filtered through his mind, and the dino duelist couldn’t help but give a soft chuckle at the thought; he supposed he always _had_ been much snippier when he was hungry, but the realization still caught him off guard.

He sighed in relief as he finally entered the cafeteria, searching through the crowds of students for the familiar mop of teal hair that always caught his eye. Ryuzaki got lost in his reverie for a moment – hunger always made him more distracted and prone to spacing out – as he methodically scanned the students around him, thinking back to a mid-term assignment he had due in the next week and frowning at how behind he was becoming with his school work. Between his wayward thoughts of food and assignments, Ryuzaki felt entirely swamped – the end of semester was so overwhelming.

 _Today’s Friday, so I should be good to finish it over the weekend if I’m lucky,_ he thought to himself, now moving his free hand to grasp at the backpack strap that dug into his shoulder. It was much heavier under the strain of the added textbooks Ryuzaki had picked up to aid in his studying, though a few of them still had yet to be read through. He couldn’t help it; it wasn’t like he was entirely blowing off his coursework, but there was only so much studying a boy like Ryuzaki could get through each day before he could practically feel his brain turning into mush. He’d been looking forward to his day ending so that he could finally finish his Friday in peace, relaxing and maybe cranking out an assignment or two before his weekend could truly begin.

_Friday…_

The brunette thought back to the fact that it had been just over a week since he and Haga had dueled at his apartment last Thursday. After their movie night had ended so unusually, their attentions had both turned to the swiftly approaching end of the semester and the onslaught of assignments that accompanied it. They had both had entirely different reactions to the upcoming finals they’d need to complete before their break began. For Haga, it had been an escapist dream from his parents’ bickering and the looming tournament deadline that seemed to haunt him, and for Ryuzaki, it was a very unwanted and uncomfortable wakeup-call that he had to catch up on his assignments and study for his tests, and _fast_.

 _I should probably make time this weekend to get another duel in with Haga,_ the dino duelist frowned in contemplation. As long as he finished his most pressing assignments, he had no doubt that he would be able to carve out some time to give Haga a visit – maybe spend the day together, or have a sleepover if he was lucky enough to get the chance. He had high hopes that Haga would allow him to come over and finally see his house; Ryuzaki was reluctant to suggest his place again, as bringing the shorter teen back to his apartment for a second time would likely get boring fast. Ryuzaki was sure there was only so much cramped space and faded wallpaper that the insect lover could handle at once, and he had been itching to visit Haga’s new home on the other side of Domino City.

He hoped that Haga would be up to the challenge of getting in a match or two during their time together. For someone who had stated that he would likely need the practice, the teal-haired boy hadn’t been too enthusiastic about actually _touching_ his deck; he’d avoided it like the plague in the spare moments they had between studying when Ryuzaki had offered to play against him again. Ryuzaki figured it made sense, as dueling in Kaiba’s tournament would be a last resort should any other plans they made end up falling through, though he still hoped that Haga could at least find the casual environment of their duels enjoyable.

It had certainly been enjoyable to Ryuzaki, much to his relief. Throughout the week, the brunette had often thought back to their match and how he had felt about it, and he could finally admit that getting the practice in for Haga hadn’t been the only reason that the dino enthusiast wanted to challenge him again – he finally wanted to play again on his own merit as well. Getting to _actually_ relax while playing a game of Duel Monsters with Haga last week, especially after the months he had spent avoiding the game altogether, had been a bigger consolation than Ryuzaki had expected, and he was finally getting into the headspace of wanting the challenge and the familiarity back in his life.

“Oi, Ryuzaki!”

The brunette’s eyes widened attentively at the calling of his name, drawn back to the present moment as he finally located the bug duelist who was currently waving him down from their usual table. Despite the stress he’d been dealing with in the form of exams and essays he still needed to finish, not to mention the added stress of trying to figure out a plan to get Haga out of Kaiba’s tournament, a small smile graced the dinosaur enthusiast’s lips as he caught sight of Haga and met his gaze. If he had had either of his hands free, he would have returned the wave readily.

As Ryuzaki made his way to join his companion, he thought back to how their past week had been going. The two had only been able to meet up after school for study sessions since their movie night at Ryuzaki’s apartment; the mountain of homework and take-home assignments simply didn’t allow for them to continue practice challenges or talking about their plans to get Haga out of the upcoming tournament. It was definitely still a looming presence over both of their heads, but it was pushed to the backburner in the wake of their impending grades.

No; instead of plotting Haga’s escape or dueling during their mutual time together, the insect enthusiast had pushed Ryuzaki to the best bookstore in Domino City every day after school, stating that it was a comfort to be away from home for a few hours and that he missed the smell of fresh books – whatever that meant. Ryuzaki had much preferred their usual methods of hanging out over meeting up at the alleged sanctuary to study together, but spending time in the shop’s cozy atmosphere and watching Haga get blissfully swept up in the ornate wooden bookshelves had been lovely in its own right. Haga was dwarfed by both the mountains of insect novels available for him to read and the shelves that they sat upon, and it had been an unexpected treat for Ryuzaki to see him so relaxed for once.

It made for a good atmosphere while Ryuzaki crunched through his Algebra homework and attempted to make sense of the numerous sonnets he had to read for English. Haga himself hadn’t actually accomplished much studying during their bookstore hangouts, preferring instead to peruse the collection of novels and periodically purchasing himself and Ryuzaki coffees and snacks from the café that was located inside the shop. It’s not like Ryuzaki minded – Haga looked entirely in his element as he continuously made his way to drop off books and beverages at the table that they had both picked out to study at, browsing through them with interested blue eyes and looking so content as he studied entomology at his own pace for once.

Ryuzaki had finally gotten curious enough after a few days of this routine to interrupt Haga’s reading and inquire as to _why_ he wasn’t studying for his finals, aside from maybe checking over his notes every so often. The arched eyebrow and pointed look he received in response had been enough to quiet him as he answered his own question – Haga had always been more academically inclined and a much stronger student when compared to Ryuzaki. In his own defense, Ryuzaki had his own strengths that Haga lacked, although he figured that his street-smart knowledge wouldn’t likely be applicable to any of the exams he was studying to take.

Ryuzaki had then asked Haga rather sassily why he had even bothered attending the bookstore with him at all if he had nothing to study for. Haga had simply reiterated that it was a few more hours in the day that he wouldn’t have to spend in his parents’ company, and that hanging out with the dino enthusiast had been a much-preferred alternative. _“The less time they have to pester me about my studies, the better. Unless you don’t want me here, dino-breath?”_

The question had made Ryuzaki frown in response, his brow knitting together as he thought about the concept. He had been thinking about the state of their friendship for a while now, especially after the two had begun frequenting that bookstore on a daily basis to study together after school. Haga’s teasing quip had been nothing more than a gentle dig to get Ryuzaki off his back, but it had instead further opened a rabbit hole of thought that the brunette was unable to keep from wandering down.

Occasionally while they studied together, he’d glance up to catch Haga’s gaze as the teal-haired teen added more books to his pile on the opposite side of their table from where Ryuzaki had sat working. Their eyes would meet and Ryuzaki would feel his heart skip a beat, lost in a sea of blue before Haga would sit down and bury his nose in his novels. Similarly, whenever Haga brought a latte or scone back for the brunette to snack on while he crammed, their fingers would touch delicately each time that Haga handed him his gifts, and it was as if static electricity sparked from the contact where their skin met. Ryuzaki felt a heated blush creep onto his cheeks each time this happened, mentally scolding himself for the way his face would heat up or his breath would catch in his throat, though he never could pin down what made him feel this way.

Why was any of this happening? If Haga noticed, he never said anything – only sliding his books out of Ryuzaki’s work space or sipping his own coffee before returning back to novel foraging – but Ryuzaki couldn’t shake the feeling that something he couldn’t quite place had changed since they had spent the evening together last week, huddled up on the couch and watching Jurassic Park after their duel.

He never got the time to ask Haga about it either, but whether that was in fear of learning the truth or because he had actually been far too swamped with schoolwork to think about it, Ryuzaki couldn’t tell.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts as he approached the usual table he shared with the insect lover, Ryuzaki offered him a grin as he put his lunch sack down and slipped off his backpack. The brunette slid onto the bench on the opposite side of the table from Haga, offering him a quick “Hey, dude,” in greeting as he unloaded his lunch and began slurping down his ramen with renewed vigor. As much as he wanted to run his weekend plans by Haga, food definitely took priority to someone with as voracious an appetite as Ryuzaki. The ramen was a little on the cold side, but he couldn’t be assed to get up and find a microwave to cook it in, munching on the lukewarm noodles contentedly.

Haga regarded him with a scrunched nose and judging eyes as he chowed down on his lunch, the bug duelist’s lips quirking in disgust at the messy display in front of him – though Ryuzaki was far too famished to give it a second thought.

“You even _eat_ like a dinosaur,” Haga’s expression blanched as droplets of broth flecked onto the surface of the table they shared, his hands wrapping around his bento box and gingerly moving it further back to dodge the mess. “Were you raised in a barn?! You’re going to completely spoil my appetite – chew with your mouth _closed!_ ”

The dino enthusiast swallowed his mouthful of noodles and grinned unabashedly at his companion. He had a small piece of seaweed stuck to his front teeth, which further made Haga pale. “Sorry, bug-guts! I’m _starving_.”

"I can see that,” Haga chortled as he tried to brush aside his disgust, continuing to eat as a slower pace as he watched Ryuzaki almost haphazardly consume his food. “You’re barely even _chewing_ your ramen; it’s rather revolting, really. Slow down – you’re scarfing it down as if you’ve been deprived of food for days. What, did you not have time for breakfast this morning?”

The dinosaur enthusiast shook his head, brunette strands of hair whipping at his cheeks and getting coated in the broth on either side of his lips. Mouth half-full, he explained, “Nah, I woke up a little late because I stayed up last night studying, but I had time to eat a full breakfast before I had to go. The end of the semester is seriously kicking my ass – I don’t know how you manage to be so calm about it.”

“Tch.” The teal-haired teen shrugged nonchalantly, agitating Ryuzaki with his unaffected demeanor – sure, he was glad that Haga was confident that he would do well, but test anxiety had been giving the brunette chilling uneasiness for the past week. To see someone so relaxed about the prospect of finals when it broke him into a cold sweat was frustrating at best. “Test-taking has always come rather naturally to me – I already know I’ll do fine. These exams are nothing compared to the prep-work I’ve been doing for graduate school under the insistence of my parents.”

“Man, I would _not_ want to be you; doing grad-school prep at sixteen,” Ryuzaki snorted between bites of noodles, though his tone held an undercurrent of sympathy to it. “If I pass all my exams with a C average, I’d be proud of myself. I’ll tell ya, I can’t wait until summer break.”

“That makes one of us.” The teal-haired teen gave a heavy sigh as he adjusted his spectacles, staring down at his bento as if he were waiting for it to offer him advice. “Every day that passes by is another day closer that we get to Kaiba unveiling his tournament to the public – which is another day closer that _I_ get to having my name forcibly entered into it.”

“Relax, we’ll figure something out,” Ryuzaki said in hopes sounding comforting. “We don’t have much time to iron out the plan, but we’ll manage it. That reminds me – what are you doing tomorrow?”

“Hm?” Bright blue eyes glanced back up to the dino duelist’s face, a contemplative frown tugging at the corner of his lips as he mulled over the question. “Not a whole lot, why?”

“Well, until we figure out a course of action, you still need the dueling practice, just in case we can’t get a good plan going in time and you have to enter,” Ryuzaki stated logically. “I have some coursework I need to do for my biology exam that I really should get done this weekend, but I can always bring that over with me and finish it after we duel. You down to hang out tomorrow?”

“W-wait, _bring it over_ with you? Are you implying that you come over to _my_ house?” Haga examined his partner with a disapproving frown, arms crossing over his chest as he cocked an eyebrow at Ryuzaki’s sheepish grin.

“We had our last duel at my apartment, and there isn’t much there to keep you occupied after we finish dueling,” Ryuzaki reasoned, holding up his pointer finger to further emphasize his rebuttal. Haga’s gaze softened slightly at the explanation, and before he could give a definite no, Ryuzaki added, “I’ve been wanting to see your house since I found out you moved here! We both know I don’t have any other reason to go to the ritzy side of Domino anyways, so it’ll give me a chance to sightsee.”

“And how did that wind up being my problem to fix? You don’t need me as an excuse to go sightseeing.”

“Aww, c’mon Haga!” Ryuzaki all but pleaded. “Pleeease? It’ll be fun!”

The bug duelist gave a theatrical sigh as he turned his cheek to Ryuzaki’s pouting, though the brunette could see his resolve falter as he considered the possibility. Finally, he sighed in resignation and grumbled, “I suppose I _did_ tell you I would be able to get it okayed with my parents and have you over… yes, that should be fine. Don’t say I never did anything for you.”

“Awesome!” Ryuzaki beamed. “This is gonna rock!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Haga snorted. “I doubt my parents will provide transportation; you’re probably going to have to find your own way to the house. Is that doable for you? It’s a bit of a walk, for sure.”

“Are you kidding me? After crossing a freaking desert for days on end? I think I can handle it.” Ryuzaki chortled, winking dramatically for good measure as Haga rolled his eyes in response. “Just text me the address and I can map it out the day-of; I can take the bus or something, if it’s too far to walk. I’ll come over around noon?”

“That sounds fine,” Haga nodded, a small smile gracing his features as he took another bite of his food. “It will be nice to have company around the house for once. It’s so dull when it’s drenched in silence; my parents might not be pleased when we inevitably get the house dirtied, but at this point it’s more of an incentive to have you over than anything else.”

"Oh man, your ‘rents are probably gonna _love_ having me back,” Ryuzaki chuckled, twirling a strand of his brunette hair in between his fingers as he spoke. “Do you remember that one time when we tried to redye my bangs because they were _super_ faded? You had like, no idea what you were doing – I don’t even think you had gloves on.”

“Eesh, don’t remind me,” Haga blanched. “My father threatened to throw me out _‘until he calmed down’_ because of that mess. I’d never even dyed anyone’s hair before – how was I supposed to know it would stain the shower tile? Not to mention my poor hands – they were stained lavender for a _week!_ ”

“I would have thought the staining would have been common knowledge, in my defense. Not that it would have really helped much; it got _everywhere_ regardless,” Ryuzaki snickered, voice growing soft at the nostalgia as he remembered Haga’s parents barging into the bathroom and throwing a fit. Sure, it certainly hadn’t been funny at the time, but the look on their faces when they had seen the explosion of purple hair dye on white porcelain tiles had been absolutely priceless in hindsight. Ryuzaki been forcibly sent home at the hands of Haga’s parents because of the mess they had made in the bathroom, and the brunette’s mother had certainly not appreciated the 1 AM wakeup call from Haga’s mother to come and collect her son. “When your mom saw the purple streaks down the side of the toilet? I thought she was going to strangle me. I think that’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen from _either_ of your parents.”

“It wouldn’t have been nearly as messy if you hadn’t kept shaking your head like a wet _dog_ every time we rinsed out your bangs.” The teal-haired boy quipped back with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke. “You’ll be pleased to know that there were still a couple spots of purple that my parents had initially missed that permanently marred the tiling. I don’t know what kind of hair dye you used, but it withstood multiple bleaching attempts. My parents were _livid –_ I didn’t hear the end of it until we finally moved out of that damn house! I can only hope that the next family that moves there won’t be so uptight, especially if they have kids.”

“It gave the bathroom character,” Ryuzaki joked, smile growing larger on his face as he watched Haga chuckle in spite of himself. “My bangs are pretty good on color right now, too, so I’ll spare you and keep my dye kit at home.”

“You wouldn’t be allowed past the front gates if you had it on you,” Haga countered with a smirk, fishing out his phone to text Ryuzaki the address ahead of time. As he sat there, gaze fixed on his phone while he typed away, the teal-haired boy’s lips quirked into a small frown and he seemed to steel his resolve before saying, far too casually, “I might just bite the bullet and admit to my mother that I need a break from dueling.”

“Ohhh.” Ryuzaki’s eyebrows quirked up immediately at the suggestion, halfway through shoveling ramen noodles into his mouth. Cautious violet eyes scanned over Haga to try and get a feel for the shift in his demeanor as the brunette swallowed his food and asked, “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I’ve been racking my brain for days now, trying to figure out some sort of harebrained scheme to keep myself out of this tournament. I hate to admit it, but for once, I’ve got nothing. I think I’m psyching myself out; I keep thinking of loopholes that my parents could find in my plans, and I can’t commit to anything.” Haga admitted miserably with a sigh, slumping over slightly as he slid his phone back into his pocket. He rested his arm on the table and busied himself with tracing patterns onto the wooden surface with his fingernail. “Maybe I’ll dance around the subject of taking a few months off to see how she feels about it, or maybe I’ll just tell her outright that I’m done for a while.”

“Don’t pressure yourself into that route just yet, Haga – no one even knows this tournament is happening,” Ryuzaki reasoned, concerned frown quirking at his lips. “We have a good two weeks or so before Kaiba’s likely to unveil it to the public; that’s plenty of time to come up with a solid plan. Besides, if anyone’s ever been able to come up with a good _harebrained scheme_ , it’s you.”

“It’s not like you were ever coming up with better ideas,” The insect duelist teased with a halfhearted chuckle, readjusting his spectacles before he turned his gaze back to his companion. His expression softened as Ryuzaki noticeably reacted to the jab, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

“I have loads of good ideas!” Ryuzaki scoffed, pointing his thumb to his chest for emphasis. The brunette turned his cheek teasingly as he said, “I was just fine with taking the back seat, that’s all.”

Ryuzaki’s preening only made Haga chortle louder, rolling his eyes good-naturedly as the brunette returned to his meal. “Oh, spare me!”

Ryuzaki had wanted to further press the issue – really nail in to Haga just how unwise it would be to blow his cover in such a way by telling his parents that he no longer wanted to participate in tournaments – but the way that Haga looked back at him, half-lidded eyes watching him contentedly, made the brunette not want to disturb the moment by making it more serious. Shooting down Haga’s idea altogether would only rile him up and stress him out, and it wasn’t as if they were entirely pressed for time just yet. There wasn’t an immediate need for concern.

There would be a time for them to buckle down and really put their heads together to come up with something in the near future, when the tournament was announced and they had to set their plan in motion. But right now? With Haga smiling playfully at him with a softness that he hadn’t even known a few weeks prior?

Their planning could wait. Ryuzaki was enjoying himself too much.

“Tch, you’ll be saying that tomorrow when we duel. You’re going down!”

Bright blue eyes glinted behind his spectacles as Haga took the challenge with stride. The words he’d usually issue with malice were nothing more than playful as he chuckled at his companion.

“I’d like to see you try and beat me, dino-brain.”

The summer weather was crawling to a slow boil as Ryuzaki made his way to Haga’s house the next day – he could see the heatwaves radiating off of the sidewalk as he ventured his way through unfamiliar streets. He had forgone walking the entire duration to the other side of Domino City due to the distance and the heat, instead taking public transportation for as long as it would guide him in the direction of Haga’s new abode.

He had occasionally flipped to the text log between the two that had Haga’s address typed out in the conversation, triple-checking it in his GPS app just to make sure he wouldn’t end up knocking at another random family’s homestead. Content that he was on the right path and would be at Haga’s within the hour, once the bus had dropped him off on the outskirts of the upper-rent district of Domino, he made his way excitedly to spend the day with his best friend.

Ryuzaki was already imagining what Haga’s house would look like as he walked down the sidewalks that would take him to it, imagining a mansion of sorts with a gigantic pool and a huge front garden where Haga could bug hunt – even if his last house was a far cry from that description. Haga’s previous home certainly hadn’t been as extravagant as the one Ryuzaki was constructing in his mind – the front yard had been pitifully small and the only backyard water feature had been an unused bird fountain – but a boy could dream, right? No matter what Haga’s home looked like, Ryuzaki was sure that compared to the dingy apartment he shared with his mother, it would be a dream, and it was this enthusiasm that made his walk through the summer heat bearable and exciting.

Partway through his walk, the ever-rising midday temperature had begun to make him simmer, and Ryuzaki had resorted to stopping in front of a shop window to remedy the situation. He secured a hair tie he kept in the pocket of the satchel he flung over his shoulder and put his hair up into a ponytail with it, instantly feeling better as the sweat on the back of his neck was cooled against the wind. It was a hairstyle that he occasionally wore when the heat had demanded it; his hair was an absolute blanket otherwise, and it acted as insulation to keep the warmth trapped to him. Getting his mane off his shoulders had been a huge relief to the brunette, and with a satisfied sigh he readjusted his backpack and continued on his way. He strode on happily to Haga’s house with the ends of his ponytail tickling the back of his neck, and it occurred to him that Haga had yet to see him with his hair up.

With his lavender bangs entirely on display for once, his brunette hair tied up off his shoulders and his signature red beanie missing, Ryuzaki was sure he would be quite a sight.

Haga’s house was getting ever closer as Ryuzaki made his way to nicer and nicer streets, and eventually he found himself in front of two open iron gates that had the correct address written down the thickest bars. Past the gates, he could see the beginnings of a beautiful garden and a cobblestone path that led to the porch of the abode, and Ryuzaki wasted no time in skipping along the stone trail and ringing the doorbell to the house. The front garden wasn’t nearly as big as he had anticipated it to be, but it was adorned along its edges with hydrangea and rose bushes that accented the gates with vibrant shades of pinks and blues; he could already imagine Haga sitting out amongst the grass and catching butterflies.

He had to admit, it was beautiful. Even from just seeing the outside of the premises, Ryuzaki knew that this two-story house was a sight to behold.

 _I hope this is the right place,_ he thought to himself after waiting a moment in silence on the porch, though his worries were quickly quelled as he heard Haga’s unmistakable quip from the other side of the door, growing louder as he made his way to let Ryuzaki in.

Ryuzaki paused as the voices within the house came nearer to the door – it was Haga’s voice, for sure, but it sounded angry and loud. Barking, almost – like the way he used to sound when he’d shout and snap at anyone who riled him up. Ryuzaki hadn’t realized just how much he _hadn’t_ missed that particular tone of Haga’s until he was reacquainted with it, and the thought of seeing the boy in such a pissy mood made his nose crinkle undesirably. It was going to be a long day if he was standoffish and rude.

Another voice joined the argument and made the shouting even louder, and Ryuzaki cocked an eyebrow as he listened as best he could. He frowned in concentration as he was almost able to decipher the indistinguishable shouting from within the house; he was able to make out the voice of Haga’s mother, just as recognizable to Ryuzaki, and just as loud and angry as her son was.

_What the hell?_

The shouting reached its peak as Haga came closer and closer to the door, though Ryuzaki could only catch a few words in the fray of yelling as he stomped his way to the entrance to let the dino enthusiast in. The brunette put his ear up to the door as he heard rustling from the other side, too curious to stop himself.

“— is ridiculous. You never –”

“— don’t you dare walk awa—”

“— forget I said anyt –”

The sound of a lock being turned caught Ryuzaki’s attention, and he rushed back guiltily to allow the door more room to swing open before he was caught snooping. When Haga opened the door, Ryuzaki’s cautious words of greeting died quickly on his lips; Haga looked _pissed._ His jaw was set in a deep scowl that dissipated slightly at the sight of Ryuzaki – no doubt in awe at the lack of hair that framed the brunette’s shoulders and sat instead tied up in a ponytail. The insect duelist opened his mouth, about to say something, when a voice from deeper inside the house called for him and made his shoulders square up with tension.

“Haga!” His mother’s voice called venomously from inside the house, gaining fast on where the boys stood now and sounding just as pissed as Haga had looked. Ryuzaki’s eyebrows shot up in interest as Haga beckoned him in, closing and locking the door behind him. Ryuzaki could hear footsteps as the woman approached the boys, continuing her conversation. “I told you not to walk away from me! If you storm out of this house, I swear to – oh!”

She stopped herself as soon as she caught sight of Ryuzaki, hand coming up to her hip as she looked irritated at the inconvenience. The brunette almost wondered if she would continue barking at Haga despite his sudden arrival – he didn’t really know what he’d do if they started arguing again in front of him – but she only frowned and addressed him with frigid blue eyes. Her son fidgeted slightly as she spoke, her voice glacially cordial and straight to the point. “Ryuzaki. I wasn’t made aware that you would be arriving so early today.”

Violet eyes scanned the woman as she then crossed her arms over her chest, eyebrow quirking up as she waited for a response. She looked exactly the same as Ryuzaki remembered her, even in the year he had not seen her – snobbish and mouse-faced, with hair two shades darker than her son’s, she adjusted her glasses in a fashion that was eerily similar to Haga’s own mannerisms as Ryuzaki waved to her. His own voice sounded foreign to his ears as he replied politely, “Hi, ma’am. I hope you don’t mind; I wanted to get here before it got any hotter outside. How are you doing?”

“Fine, thank you.” Her lips were pursed in that signature look she had whenever she addressed Ryuzaki – snobbishly formal. If Ryuzaki had to guess, he would hazard that the sheen of sweat covering his brow-line and the raggedy attire of his worn yellow shirt and stained khaki pants were probably off-putting to the woman who always stood before him in perpetual business attire. She turned her gaze back to Haga before he could feel any more scrutinized, however, unimpressed eyes narrowing as she stated, “We can continue this conversation later, Haga. I expect your father will be hearing of this as well.”

Haga grabbed tightly onto Ryuzaki’s wrist and tugged him forward, startling the brunette as they made their way past his mother. Icy blue eyes that reflected none of Haga’s warmth watched the two of them move past her as Ryuzaki kept his gaze on the woman, and he felt Haga’s grip on his arm tighten reflexively as he retorted through gritted teeth, “I look forward to it. We’ll be practicing Duel Monsters, now, if that’s _alright_ with you.”

“Ah, good. Yes, that should be fine.” His mother all but sighed, equal parts relieved and put-out. “Your father and I will be taking a weekend trip to Kyoto on business here in a few hours. Do keep the house tidy while we’re gone, Haga. I expect better from my son than to come back to a pigsty.”

The boys bustled up the stairs together as Haga muttered indistinguishably under his breath, unyielding grip still clamped onto Ryuzaki’s arm as the two made their way to the insect enthusiast’s room. Ryuzaki looked around with interested eyes as he was forcefully trudged behind Haga like a chastised child, wanting to comment on being handled so aggressively but not finding the voice to do so. His eyes darted around curiously as he took in glimpses of Haga’s lower floorplan through the spacing in the wooden banister, trying to see as much as he could of his companion’s home before the younger teen opened his bedroom door and practically shoved Ryuzaki inside.

Haga was quick to follow, still muttering sourly as he entered his room. The door was shut behind him with more force than was strictly necessary as Ryuzaki took a step forward, peering around Haga’s room with intrigue. He absentmindedly rubbed at the wrist that Haga had held in a vice grip, though he could feel himself become more at ease as he took in Haga’s room.

“Finally,” Haga sighed bitterly as he brushed past the brunette, busying himself with checking his reflection in the full-length mirror that was mounted on the wall to the immediate left of the door. Ryuzaki was amused to find that he was dressed down today; he wore a simple white shirt underneath a grey cardigan that had the white outlines of ladybugs dotting it.

Ryuzaki caught a glimpse of Haga straightening out his appearance in the mirror and chuckled softly before returning to his observations. A bulletin board rested next to the mirror at eye-level, tacked up with a butterfly-themed calendar and numerous postcards that Ryuzaki didn’t bother to look at too closely.

“Make yourself at home, dino-breath,” Haga quipped as Ryuzaki swept over the room with curious violet eyes. “We’ll probably be in here until mother and father leave for Kyoto.”

Whereas the rest of the house had been flooded with overheard fluorescent lights, Haga’s room was bathed in a soft, yellow-orange glow that Ryuzaki found far more calming. He was surprised to see that, instead of one light source, the flickering warmth that filled the room belonged to various desk and heat lamps perched overtop terrariums. The glow that emanated from these lamps was warm and inviting as it enveloped the entire room, bouncing gently off the walls in a far kinder fashion than the harsh fluorescents that had filled the rest of the house in an unwelcoming, coldly artificial light.

The terrariums these heat lamps belonged to sat atop almost every available surface in the room, save for the bed, bookshelf and windowsills. The brunette noted subconsciously that various insects that he hadn’t yet seen had joined Haga’s collection in his absence, and he made a note to take a closer look at them once he was settled in. Though this room wasn’t nearly as decorated as Haga’s last room had been, it still had numerous personal touches that resonated with the insect duelist’s tastes, and the familiarity made Ryuzaki smile in spite of himself. He almost chuckled at the Insect Queen poster that Haga had tacked to the wall above his bed, which was still adorned with the same bug-themed comforters and blankets that Ryuzaki remembered from their numerous sleepovers together.

 _There’s no mistaking it – this is Haga’s,_ the brunette smiled fondly to himself as he turned around to take in the rest of Haga’s room. Violet eyes cast down at his companion’s lamp-lit study desk before moving up to the bookshelf, where two trophies sat atop it. Recognition widened the brunette’s eyes as he cocked his head to the side.

Ryuzaki instantly recognized one of the awards as being the Regional Championship trophy that Haga had won against him two years ago, but he was drawn to the other one that sat beside it, which was newer and far more ornate in its design. Was it another Championship trophy? When had Haga won this?

“Cool digs,” Ryuzaki said simply in approval, deciding to hold back on asking about the trophy for the time being. He nodded absentmindedly to himself as he kicked off his shoes and set them at the entranceway by Haga’s door, hoping that the younger teen wouldn’t mind that he hadn’t taken his sneakers off beforehand. He had been dragged inside so quickly that he hadn’t found the moment to remove them; a fact he was sure Haga’s mother wouldn’t be too happy about once she noticed the dirt-tracks leading up the stairs. He was sure there was plenty of muck and gravel tucked into the soles of his shoes from the walk over.

His backpack was quick to follow as he slipped it off easily, collecting near his shoes in a small pile where it would stay until their duel kicked off. It had been a hassle to carry the unusually heavy satchel with him all the way to Haga’s house, but he hadn’t had quite enough time to finish his necessary weekend assignments at home and he was determined to get them done once he and Haga had finished their duels for the day. Ryuzaki rolled his shoulders and sighed in relief as the weight had been lifted off his small frame; he couldn’t wait until next semester when his backpack wouldn’t need to be nearly as heavy anymore.

He turned over his shoulder curiously to address Haga with a quirked eyebrow, the tense silence between them not yet broken. The teal-haired boy hadn’t said anything back in response to Ryuzaki’s small words of praise; an odd gesture, given how open he was to bragging when given the chance. Violet eyes followed Haga as he finished looking in the mirror and made his way over to his bed, plopping down on it with his arms crossed over his chest.

The brunette’s expression faltered. Haga still looked upset.

“It’s nothing much,” The insect enthusiast said with a non-committal shrug, not even looking his companion in the eye as he instead surveyed a terrarium that housed a large tarantula inside. It must have been one of his newer additions; Ryuzaki didn’t recognize the spider, but she was massive. “I haven’t really had the time nor the means to personalize it in the way that I would like to. I think my old room was better.”

“This one’s still pretty rad,” Ryuzaki replied with a frown, crossing the room to join Haga on the bed. Haga was broken out of his reverie as the bed shifted under his companion’s weight, bright blue eyes coming up to scan Ryuzaki’s face as the brunette sat next to him. “It’s got that _Haga_ touch I missed so much – it suits you.”

As if truly seeing Ryuzaki for the first time since he had opened the door to let him inside, Haga’s expression shifted pleasantly at the sight of the brunette and he snorted contentedly, reaching out and tousling Ryuzaki’s bangs in an amused fashion. The gesture caught Ryuzaki off guard and his eyes widened a fraction, watching as Haga almost affectionately twirled a strand of his lavender fringe around his finger. The bug duelist’s nose crinkled slightly in a soft emotion Ryuzaki couldn’t quite name as he said, “You look different. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair up before – surprisingly, it suits you. You can see where your roots are growing in, though.”

“Ehh? My roots, huh?” Ryuzaki chuckled, leaning into Haga’s ministrations just before the younger boy retreated his hand. With a small smile gracing his lips at the attention, Ryuzaki jokingly teased, “Lucky for you, I forgot my dye kit, so your mom won’t have to kill me for making a mess in the bathroom this time. Can you blame me for putting my hair up though? It was like, a million degrees out there. I was becoming my own personal sauna under my mane.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Haga snorted, the small smile he gave Ryuzaki betraying how he rolled his eyes at his companion’s antics. “If you lopped off about a foot of it, I’m sure you wouldn’t have that problem.”

“Tch, as if. No one would be able to recognize me if I had hair as short as yours.” The brunette responded, mimicking Haga as he rolled his eyes. “Besides, if I chopped it all off, I wouldn’t have my insulation during the winter. You gotta think about this stuff in advance, y’know! I bet I’d freeze to death.”

“Ugh, you are so dramatic. I’m sure you’d be _fine,_ ” Haga scoffed good-naturedly, eyes glinting behind his glasses. They sat like that for a few seconds before Haga drew his gaze back to the floor and fell silent. The moment of levity passed as he sat there, hands crossed atop one another almost meekly in his lap.

Ryuzaki leaned over in concern to try and get a better look at his expression – he wasn’t dumb, and Haga wasn’t the best actor in the world. He knew that Haga was bothered underneath the attempted façade of normalcy he was trying so hard to manifest, as hard as it was to get him to _actually_ open up about it. Ryuzaki figured that whatever had happened between him and his mother must not have been pretty; not if it was still bothering him now. It wasn’t unusual to catch Haga in the midst of a shouting match – whether it was with Ryuzaki or someone else depended entirely on the situation – but to see him still bothered after the fact was rare.

Haga moved his face away at Ryuzaki’s silent prodding, but the dino duelist only frowned and inched closer, hoping he would just come clean about whatever argument had transpired before Ryuzaki had arrived. Trying to provoke Haga into explaining himself was an exhausting effort for both parties whenever he clammed up like this; it was hard to coax information out of him whenever he was in a particularly bad mood.

He observed Haga with caution as the two sat in silence together, not wanting to risk setting him off and angering him, but not wanting to just ignore the obvious elephant in the room entirely. Ryuzaki huffed indignantly under his breath when Haga refused to say anything else, and with a steeled resolve the dino duelist decided to just bite the bullet and close the gap himself.

Gently, he prodded, “You all good? I could have come over a little later, y’know – I’m sorry I didn’t text you when I was nearby.”

It was the most subtle way he could think of to announce his apology for barging in on the argument Haga had been having with his mother without actually bringing it up.

“Oh, please,” Haga shook his head as his shoulders slumped forward, tone too defeated to be defensive. He gave a heavy sigh and went to readjust his lenses as he continued. “It’s not like it’s anything new. I don’t know why I even try at this point, honestly.”

“You wanna tell me what’s wrong…?” The dino enthusiast hazarded, cocking his head slightly as Haga tilted his chin up to meet his gaze. They sat like that for a moment before Haga nodded, though he got up off the bed before he could say anything further.

“Fine. But first, let’s set up our duel,” He stated as he fidgeted, already heading to the desk where his deck holder sat. Ryuzaki leaned back as he watched Haga move on auto-pilot, recognizing the gestures for the rough diversions they were – there were so many times that the dino duelist had needed to distract himself with motion and routine to get his thoughts in order, and he’d bet that was exactly what Haga was doing now.

Still, Ryuzaki was surprised at how little resistance Haga had put up against his pestering; usually, the brunette attempting to pry information out of him before he was willing to give it would have only resulted in bickering and harsh words that always ended up becoming a bigger deal than whatever Haga had been upset by in the first place. He instead sat in place on the bed while he watched Haga move, licking his chapped lips slightly as his companion busied himself like a worker bee. The teal-haired teen collected his deck box with choppy movements before reaching to grab his playmat, setting it down in the middle of the floor atop plush beige carpeting.

Ryuzaki moved to get off the bed and collect his own deck box from his discarded backpack as Haga set up, taking his settling down as an invitation to get moving. He was swift to get himself set up, not wanting to keep Haga waiting, and the two sat on opposite sides of the playmat once they had their necessary provisions in place.

Haga sat with his back against the side of his bed, legs crossed in front of him as he leaned forward and pulled his card deck out of its container. Ryuzaki sat parallel to him with his back facing the door as he mirrored his companion, brows furrowing slightly as he set up his own side of the field. Both boys took the liberty of methodically cutting each other’s decks and setting up their point system before Ryuzaki nodded towards the bug duelist – a silent invitation for him to make the first move.

It was a calculated agreement to get Haga to draw his first card, as well as a nudge to continue where he had left off. Haga sighed as he placed his cards face-down on the field and summoned a Flying Kamakiri #1 in Attack Mode before ending his turn, his usual charisma notably absent as he played almost on auto pilot. The familiar, second-nature movements of dueling seemed to help calm him a bit though, and his eyes softened as he eyed the field in front of him. When Ryuzaki went to draw his hand, the insect duelist finally admitted, “… I asked my mother how she’d feel about me taking a hiatus from dueling for a bit. And I know you warned me not to, but I don’t want to _hear it_ , okay?”

“Ohhh, dude,” Ryuzaki replied sympathetically, hissing gently through his teeth as he set his own Monster on the field. He couldn’t help the cringe that worked its way up his spine at the thought of going toe-to-toe with a force like Haga’s mother; he knew well enough how unapproachable she could be at the best of times. “I’m guessing it didn’t go over well, huh? I could hear you two shouting before you even opened the door.”

“It’s so infuriating,” Haga confided, his tone tensing up as he attacked without thinking. Ryuzaki flipped over a spell card he had placed to counter the attack, and Haga cursed under his breath as he went to ink in his new score. “I even placed it as a hypothetical; no one else even knows about Kaiba’s tournament yet, but she was still adamant that I sign up for every opportunity that comes my way. When I suggested otherwise, she went completely livid. When will I finally be able to get a break?”

“I don’t know,” Ryuzaki shrugged as nonchalantly as possible as he made his next move. “What exactly did you tell her? I can’t say I’m surprised that she shot ya down, but it still sucks pretty bad.”

“I only told her that I needed to focus more on my academia, and that I wanted to at least put off my dueling until I had been accepted into college. I told her that graduating and getting into a good university was far more important than Duel Monsters,” Haga sighed miserably. “I know it was a longshot, but I would have at least thought that she would consider entomology a higher priority than winning tournaments. She doesn’t even approve of my dueling in the first place!”

“Until college? That’s a pretty ambitious timeline you’re giving yourself – you’ve still got your whole senior year to go.” Ryuzaki pointed out, a frown tugging on his features at how Haga’s shoulders slumped at the observation. “Why does she want you to duel so bad, anyways?”

“She told me that my tournament titles came with a sense of stardom that would be beneficial to my career applications in the future, which I don’t believe for a second. There’s absolutely no correlation between them – as if a museum or a laboratory is going to give a damn about how well I ever did as a duelist.” The bug duelist’s features hardened as he adjusted his glasses, going in for another risky move that Ryuzaki easily countered. “She told me I was being selfish – that I needed to think about our family’s social standing, and the shoes I’ll need to fill in order to keep our family name as reputable as it is. I’m not even seventeen yet – I don’t _care_ about our reputation! The choices that my family has made and the legacy that they work so hard to protect shouldn’t just bury itself onto my shoulders because they want it to; I don’t even know who I want to be yet! I want to be a duelist, but not if it means I’m dueling for the prestige of my _family_ rather than because I _want_ _to_. I _t’s_ so much pressure!”

“It sounds like it,” Ryuzaki admitted truthfully, setting another dinosaur down on the field. “Honestly, though, you’re lucky she didn’t see through your whole _take a_ _break_ façade. When she finds out about Kaiba’s tournament, you’ll be hard pressed to keep her nose out of it now. There’s no way she’s gonna _not_ let you enter when you just pitched the idea to her and got shot down.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” His companion hissed, his pitch rising as his voice became more desperate. He shot an apologetic glance at Ryuzaki as the brunette flinched back at the outburst. “I have no idea what I’m going to do, and the tournament announcement is sure to be held right after the semester ends. I’m so sick of feeling like this, I could scream!”

Ryuzaki paused reaching for the Gilasaurus he held in his hand so he could watch Haga observantly, frowning at how unraveled the smaller teen looked in that moment. His cards were almost entirely forgotten as he sat there, one hand going to ruffle through seafoam green bangs as the other shakily held his hand of cards. “You _look_ like you’re about to scream, Haga. Just try to relax, it’s going to be alright.”

“How can you be so sure?” Haga grimaced, placing a card on the field without hardly giving it a second glance. “I don’t know if you noticed, Ryu, but we’re running out of time and we have no options on our side. We don’t even have an _outline_ of a plan!”

“And if you just played in this tournament anyways?” Ryuzaki offered, shrinking back as Haga’s kneejerk reaction was immediate. The glare he got made him flinch, and he made his next move to avoid having to look at those piercing blue eyes any longer. “I know you’re not the biggest fan of the idea, but you’re kind of backing yourself into a corner here.”

“And then what – I get swept away in news reports and flashing cameras when I win? Or I become a laughingstock again when I lose?” Haga’s voice was growing increasingly loud in his desperation; Ryuzaki briefly pondered if his mother was catching wind of any of this, but he wasn’t about to interrupt Haga to find out. “I’ve done a remarkable job of keeping my dueling career under wraps thus far. I’ve kept news reporters and excited interviewers out of my line of sight because _I don’t want that sort of stardom anymore._ After the infamy we’ve been dragged through, the _last_ thing I want is for my name to suddenly reappear on headlines and television sets! With a KaibaCorp tournament, that sort of limelight is inevitable!”

Ryuzaki held his hands up placatingly as Haga barked at him, quickly retreating the gesture when he realized he had essentially shown Haga his entire hand. It hadn’t mattered, though – Haga was far too riled up to have paid attention. As he ranted while the two kept dueling, Ryuzaki took a moment after a few turns to look down at their scores and both of their sides of the field. His eyes widened slightly as he looked over the numbers.

Ryuzaki was ahead by a landslide. Haga had barely even put a dent in his Life Points.

The insect duelist was so focused on his anger and his increasingly desperate situation that he had essentially tuned the entire game out – it was like his movements were perpetually on auto pilot. He mechanically went through the motions of the game because they were second nature at this point, but he wasn’t actually dueling to win. Hell, he was hardly _dueling_ at all – he slammed down whatever card caught his attention without a second thought, but there was no strategy to his moves and it was making him look pitiful. His motions and his actions were fueled entirely by his desperation, which was a state of mind Ryuzaki had never seen him in.

Haga hadn’t blinked whenever Ryuzaki had defeated a Monster of his, or countered his attacks with carefully placed spell cards; he hadn’t even cared. He was dueling horribly – the worst Ryuzaki had ever seen him play – and the contrast from his last duel against Ryuzaki was so stark that it was shocking to the brunette.

“You’ve told me before that I keep overthinking things, and then when I go to do them, it’s not so bad as I thought it was going to be.” Ryuzaki tried reasoning, placing another Monster down that attacked Haga’s Life Points directly – he had forgotten to place down a Monster last turn. Haga barely batted an eye at the assault as he scribbled his new total sloppily on their score sheet, his usually perfect penmanship nothing more than a rushed mess of black ink. “Are you sure you’re not just doing the same thing?”

“With every tournament I win, my mother makes sure the next one’s bigger. What’s bigger than a KaibaCorp sponsored event?” Haga all but spat, smearing his handwriting into his skin as he unknowingly slid the side of his palm over the still-wet ink. “When I picked up Duel Monsters again to get away from my entomology studies, I started out dueling at local card shops to begin. Those venues were so small and unassuming that almost no one else was there when I dueled. I then moved on to attending their local event nights when I felt I was ready for a slightly bigger audience, and then that moved to getting put into the smallest tournaments I’ve ever placed in. It’s never been good enough for my mother; I’ve been moving back up the ranks entirely because she’s taken the reins on my career. It all came to a head when I was crowned this year’s Regional Champion.”

“W-wait, what? You _were_?!” Ryuzaki’s eyes widened as he jolted back at the news. So that _was_ what the trophy on his bookshelf was for. The news shouldn’t have surprised him, but hearing it from Haga after failing to see it on the television was still startling; their Championship duel two years ago had been aired all over Japan. “You mean like, _this_ _year_ this year? Haga, I didn’t even see the match on TV!”

“There’s a reason for that. I told you that I’ve kept my dueling career a secret.” Haga retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “The win meant nothing to my parents, though – they only really care about the prestige of the tournaments I enter into, so when I refused to sign off on allowing the match to be televised, the Regional Championship title was worthless to them. They didn’t even show up to watch my winning match.”

“… That’s harsh.” Ryuzaki frowned, sinking back slightly as Haga’s eyes narrowed at him. “I think there’s only ever been one duel of mine that my ma missed seeing, and that was because she pulled a double-shift at the hospital after that rollover accident…”

“Tch. Lucky you. Remind me to congratulate you later for your lovely familial relationships.” Steely blue eyes hardened slightly as Ryuzaki pondered his past duels, though his gaze softened as he sighed and backed down. The insect duelist took a moment to try and collect himself; it wasn’t Ryuzaki that he was frustrated with, but he was _there_ and was usually complacent enough to roll with the punches whenever he and Haga bickered. It had always been easy for Haga to mistreat him whenever his temper flared up in the past.

Now wasn’t the time to pick a fight out of misguided frustrations, though – Haga felt above that; didn’t want to be that person any longer. He didn’t want to slip into that tired old routine, and Ryuzaki certainly didn’t deserve to bear the burden of his misdirected anger.

Ryuzaki’s eyes narrowed slightly at the dig before he brushed it off, knowing Haga well enough to recognize his acidic words as the defense mechanism that they were underneath the venom. He took another stab at Haga’s Life Points with his Gilasaurus in silent retaliation, slightly comforted by the way that Haga begrudgingly inked in his new score. After Haga’s next turn, he placed his Megazowler in Defense Mode and wiped out another one of his Monsters before he cautiously peered back up at the younger teen.

The insect duelist moved his Insect Monster to the graveyard before drawing another card that he flopped onto the field without further consideration. “… I don’t mean to bite at you like that. I’m just… really stressed. I… don’t know what I’m going to do.”

There was a waver in his voice that Ryuzaki instantly caught on to, body jolting slightly as he cautiously scanned his companion’s face. Haga tried to hide his eyes from Ryuzaki’s gaze as he stared down at the playmat they were using, his thick seafoam green bangs and beetle glasses enveloping most of his face from Ryuzaki’s view.

The shudder in his shoulders gave him away, though.

Ryuzaki worried his bottom lip in between his teeth as he watched the display in front of him, stuck like a deer in the headlights for a moment as he tried to rack his brain for what to do. The two of them had certainly been in emotionally charged situations before, so seeing Haga this strung up was nothing new, but there was something different about this situation that Ryuzaki couldn’t quite put his finger on.

The tension in Haga’s small frame and the displeasure evident in every part of his body language gave Ryuzaki flashbacks to their lives after Duelist Kingdom, kicking trashcans in abandoned alleyways and chilling to the bone in the rain as a means to vent their frustrations in the only way they really knew how. Even then, though, that was a far different anger from the unhappiness rolling off Haga in waves now. The tightly-wound coil of the smaller boy’s rigid posture and tightly set jaw was nothing more than white-hot rage back then when they were losers; certainly a far cry from the trembling tension that he held in his shoulders now, threatening to break at a moment’s notice. He was angry, sure, but there was an underlying feeling of despair that emanated off of him that refused to be ignored.

It was then that Ryuzaki realized what was going on – what made this so different from any of the other times Haga had been this far gone.

 _Oh, shit – he’s about to start crying_. Ryuzaki felt an internal pang of panic rack through his chest at the revelation, his face flushing hot at the prospect of being in such an unusual situation. He was in no way qualified to talk down a crying person, let alone a person as unpredictable as Haga!

“I have no idea what I’m going to do, Ryuzaki.” He repeated brokenly, voice cracking entirely as he pawed his sleeve into his cheekbone. The waterworks were starting and the dino duelist had _no idea_ what to do to deescalate the situation. “I know that I should probably just suck it up and get this tournament over with, but the thought of sitting there and letting my future continue to spin out of my control more and more is just… so suffocating. I know that I don’t have the cleanest track record of making good decisions, but at least if I messed up royally before, it was my own doing.”

 _I don’t think I’ve ever seen him cry like this before_ , the dino duelist thought to himself as he watched the boy in front of him break down. Ryuzaki remained frozen as Haga ranted, his sleeves becoming soaked with tears as he sat there and vented. The insect enthusiast took a deep, shuddering breath as he continued. “Having my future laid out for me – my dueling career and my entomology studies… I don’t know how much more I can take of this. It’s eating me up inside so much that I can’t even think of a good plan to _stop this_ _all_ from happening in the first place!”

Ryuzaki full-on bit his bottom lip now as he mulled over Haga’s words, brain going a mile a minute with nothing really coming to the forefront. He thought back to the insect duelists’ various schemes in the past – they always failed, but they were still ones that Haga was able to come up with on-the-spot. As ridiculous as his plans usually sounded, like stowing away to America on an airplane by sneaking in as _luggage,_ they always ended up working, for better or worse.

He didn’t even have a plan now. The very concept was perplexing to the brunette.

If Haga was unable to come up with a plan because his stress was eating him up inside so much, Ryuzaki would have to take the reins and figure something out himself before Kaiba unveiled his tournament and Haga’s fate was sealed. He couldn’t just let his best friend continue tearing himself up like this, but the thought of being the one to take charge was foreign and scary to the dino duelist. He’d always been the one to blindly follow Haga’s lead; never the one to take the role of leader.

He’d have to, though. Haga would be useless to him like this. He was far too worried to think straight and plan something logically, nearing on panicking in his current state. Anything he would think of in the moment would be emotion-based and rash – not that Ryuzaki was sure he could do much better – but if Haga had told him that he wanted to stow away to America again, he wouldn’t have been surprised in the slightest.

Even at his lowest, Haga had always managed to pull himself back up and continue on with tenacity back then – even if he was fueled by spite, and even if it wore him down, it was notoriously hard to keep him down permanently. He was like a cockroach in that way; always getting back up no matter what was thrown at him. His methodical plans – calculated, precise, efficient – were no longer at the forefront as he sat there shaking, looking lost and demolished.

Seeing him so utterly defeated was jarring, and Ryuzaki didn’t really know what to do. He certainly hadn’t been the best at comfort back then – Haga never needed it; wasn’t one for sentimental declarations of friendships or the kinds of soft, uplifting speeches that Yuugi’s clique was so infamous for doing. Their relationship had never been one of tenderhearted emotions or mutual support because they were both always so hellbent on becoming recognized prodigies again, turning their loss into anger rather than making it a lesson to grow from.

It was clear that that wasn’t going to help them now, though – it hadn’t helped them at all for the last two years. Ryuzaki was so tired of being bitter and angry at something he couldn’t change no matter how hard he seemed to try, and he knew Haga was too. Every time they had tried to bounce back from their downfalls and act on vengeance and anger, it seemed to double back and hit them even harder. Acting on Haga’s anger would only end up blowing up in their faces – of that, Ryuzaki was sure.

Besides, he was used to being the more stoic one between himself and Haga anyways. He was certainly more confrontational and brash than the insect enthusiast was, but when Haga got a plan hatching there was often no stopping him from executing it. If Ryuzaki had to guess, he would have said that it was because Haga had been hurt far worse by his reputation being stripped by Yuugi than the dino duelist had been – Ryuzaki’s defeat at the hands of Jounouchi had definitely been humiliating, but being a _runner up_ was certainly less prestigious than being the actual crowned champion. The pain was still there, but Ryuzaki had less of a title that had been taken from him.

With Haga, though, it was different. That sort of hatred always burned deeper in the insect duelist than it did in the brunette, and it showed in Ryuzaki’s ability to think more clearly between the two of them when Haga was consumed with rage. Ryuzaki at least had self-control in that way where Haga lacked it.

It helped to balance them out, Ryuzaki thought. He needed that level-headedness now. Hell, _Haga_ needed that level-headedness now more than anything.

He doubted he would be any good at attempting to comfort Haga now, though that didn’t stop him from wanting to try. It was unlikely, but having Haga’s stress and despair curl itself into deep-seeded resentment would only further worsen the situation, and Ryuzaki couldn’t risk Haga dipping back into old habits because he was desperate enough to seek out a quick solution to his problems.

Ryuzaki tried to think about how his mother would comfort him when he needed it best, but he only ended up drawing a blank. He had hardly told her anything that had happened to him within the last two years. She didn’t even know what the Seal of Orichalcos _was_ , let alone that Ryuzaki had lost his soul to it. Most of his repressed traumas were bottled up even from her, which left him to think further back into what she would do to comfort him when he was little.

She had definitely been the most comforting figure in his life, but her type of comfort was motherly and probably wouldn’t end up helping the situation at all. Bandaids over skinned knees and gentle kisses to surface wounds came to mind as the brunette thought about times she had come to his aid when he needed her, but Ryuzaki crinkled his nose at the thought. Haga wasn’t _that_ kind of hurt, and any attempts at physical closeness would likely be brushed off volatilely as the insect duelist struggled to save face.

It felt like Ryuzaki was stuck in his own thoughts for an eternity, but it couldn’t have been more than ten seconds that he sat analyzing Haga while his companion sniffled and cried, mind still racing as he thought about _anything_ he could do to comfort him.

Nothing was coming to mind that would suitably quell Haga’s sobs, and the thought was making Ryuzaki itch as he shifted uncomfortably. He couldn’t _not_ do anything, but he was kind of lost. The thought of sitting there uselessly while Haga did something as alien as _cry_ just wasn’t acceptable.

… But what _was_ there to do to stop Haga’s tears?

Physical closeness was an obvious no; Haga was by no means a hugger. Encouraging words would only be meaningless and hollow; Ryuzaki had already spent enough time telling him that everything was going to be alright to no avail.

Ryuzaki was quickly running out of options. He turned his eyes downward to think.

The duel was still going, though it was only a turn from being over, and the more that Ryuzaki looked down at the field in front of them, the more restless he felt. He gave the playmat below them a final onceover before his eyes widened slightly, an idea striking him that might just be ridiculous enough to work.

Well, he really didn’t have anything else to lose.

Lost on any other action he could take to diffuse the situation and deescalate Haga before the spectacled teen became any further distraught or hopeless, Ryuzaki flipped his Megazowler into Attack Mode and wiped out the rest of Haga’s Life Points.

The response was instantaneous, and Ryuzaki knew that he had made chosen the right course of action when a quiet noise of surprise squeaked from Haga’s throat. Ryuzaki leaned forward to ink in a fat 0 on Haga’s side of the scoring sheet, violet eyes never once leaving the younger boy’s face as tears continued streaming down his cheeks.

They were momentarily unnoticed in his shock at having been defeated.

It took a moment before Haga’s shoulders stopped shaking, blue eyes blinking back tears as Haga looked from his Monsters, to his score sheet, to Ryuzaki’s face. He gave a pitiful sniff as he wiped at his cheek one last time, almost too stunned to speak in the moment, and Ryuzaki flashed him an unsure smile before the tension between them finally dissipated.

The dinosaur duelist gave a heavy sigh as Haga’s eyes finally looked back down to the playing field again, shoulders slumping forward as he started to destress from the tension. The two sat there for a moment, stunned and awkward silence thick between them before Haga managed to fully break out of his reverie, staring down at the field in front of him and finally realizing what a scene he had been making.

His lip wavered a bit as he frowned, adjusting his lenses distractedly just to keep his hands busy. His voice was small and hoarse, all the power from before lost in its entirely as his flighty energy vanished.

“You… you beat me.”

“Mhmm,” Ryuzaki nodded.

As if the last few minutes of their duel hadn’t happened at all, Haga’s voice became incredulous. “… How?”

“Well, to be fair, your dueling was _majorly_ off.” Ryuzaki conceded as he started putting his deck back together, relieved for the distraction. Haga remembered himself and continued pawing at his face to wipe his still-running tears into his sleeves before he mirrored his companion, opening his deck box with his free hand. “You usually keep your cool when you’re dueling under pressure. This whole thing must really be eating you up for you to lose focus like that. We can play another round later when you’re feeling up to it, if you want, but we’re taking a break now.”

“You have no idea how overwhelmed this has been making me,” Haga admitted, voice still wavering as he slipped his deck back into its holder. “D-don’t think you can count that as an honest win against me, though! This doesn’t mean anything!”

In spite of himself, Ryuzaki barked back a laugh, chuckling at the indignant pout that Haga regarded him with. _At least he’s starting to look more like himself_ , the brunette noted with a high degree of relief, though he couldn’t help but tease him. _I can’t believe his mean-mugging is a sight for sore eyes; I never thought I’d miss him_ glaring _at me like that._ “Are you kidding? Watching you duel was just pitiful; I can’t take any pride in beating you when you’re like that. We’re never talking about this match again.”

“Good,” Haga huffed, rolling up his playmat as a pink blush dusted his cheeks. His shoulders squared when Ryuzaki snickered again, pout becoming more pronounced. “D-don’t laugh at me! It’s rude.”

“I’m not laughing _at_ you!” The dino duelist chuckled honestly.

“That doesn’t make it any better, dino-brain!”

“If your pout is trying to be intimidating, I’m sorry to say that you’re a bit too cute to pull it off,” Ryuzaki scoffed before he could stop himself, freezing up and awkwardly reaching back to tug at his ponytail. Haga addressed him with a quirked brow as his face followed suit and darkened a few shades in a heated blush, and he backtracked with a stutter. “A-anyways, are you okay? You kind of broke down back there.”

“Tch, don’t concern yourself with me, I’m fine. I just… wish my talk with mother had gone more pleasantly, I guess.” Haga sighed as he finished rolling away his playmat, putting it and his deck box back up on his work desk. Ryuzaki followed his lead by getting up off the floor, taking a seat at the edge of Haga’s bed as he listened to his companion speak. “I’m… sorry that it set me off so much. You shouldn’t have to deal me when I get like that – I just got really overwhelmed. I can’t say that I’m surprised by the outcome of my talk with her, but…”

“I’m not gonna say that I told you so, but I don’t think bringing up taking a _break_ to your mom was the best thing you could’ve done,” Ryuzaki mused. “How’re you supposed to sit this out if she’s constantly watching you like a hawk to make sure you’re entered in?”

“She doesn’t _actually_ watch any of my matches,” Haga sighed. As the blush settled off of his cheeks, Ryuzaki was relieved to see that some of the blotchiness from his breakdown was disappearing with it – he was slowly returning back to normal, though his voice still held a small waver to it. “She usually just enters for me; she didn’t used to, though. If I wanted to get out of being entered, I could just tell her that I would prefer to enter the tournament myself for a change, though I doubt she’d entrust that to me after our conversation today.”

“If there’s anyone who knows how to take people out of tournaments, it’s us,” Ryuzaki chuckled darkly, drawing a curious side-eye from Haga as he addressed the brunette. “Remember that Fortune Salim guy from the Grand Prix? We totally hogtied him and no one suspected a thing.”

“That is, until our cover was entirely blown,” Haga pointed out with a sigh. “I doubt we’ll be able to pull off something like that again, though. I wouldn’t even _want_ to at this point; it’s too much of a hassle for too big a risk. Besides, we did that to get _into_ the tournament in the first place; not _out_ of it.”

“We’d be able to pull it off if we got a good lookalike for you.” Ryuzaki teased, hoping to get Haga in a better mood with the ridiculous visual. He almost scoffed at the concept of someone else masquerading around as the bug duelist he knew so well; it wasn’t too unusual to find cosplayers for Yuugi or Kaiba, but Ryuzaki didn’t think he’d ever find anyone _willingly_ dressed up as him or Haga. “Hell, you look so miserable, at this point _I’d_ almost be willing step in for you and duel in this damned tournament. I doubt I’d be able to find a wig that can pass for your haircut, though, and that’s not even mentioning the color. How would we even get all my hair underneath a wig cap? Think it’d all fit?”

Haga’s eyes lit up for a moment as he regarded Ryuzaki with contemplation, bringing his hand up to stroke at his chin as he thought. If he had found the joke funny, he didn’t say anything about it, and the smile quickly withdrew from Ryuzaki’s face as Haga’s gaze became more and more serious. He squirmed under the scrutiny, suddenly becoming nervous at the change in his demeanor.

“Woah, woah, what’s that look for? I was _joking_.” Ryuzaki chuckled anxiously, throwing up his hands and leaning back worriedly.

“Y-yeah, I know that.” Haga backtracked as he crossed his arms, huffing indignantly before turning around and busying himself with one of his terrariums. Ryuzaki got up from his perched spot on the bed and walked to the side of it to peer into the glass, watching as Haga handled a food dish that belonged to his tarantula. “I’m just trying to picture you with my shade of hair color.”

“Ick! No offense, but I think that shade suits you way more than it ever would me. Could you imagine green hair with _purple_ _bangs_? I’d look like those neon arcade carpets at the Big Web.”

Ryuzaki’s eyes lit up as he watched the arachnid that was currently hiding under a small hollowed-out log. Haga chuckled at the imagery, finally breaking free from that serious expression that had been plaguing him since their match began. “You’d keep the lavender even _if_ you had my hair color? You really have no taste.”

“I told ya, I don’t look good with any other color,” Ryuzaki snickered, a wide grin sliding onto his features as Haga seemed to ease back into a more pleasant mood. “At this point, I don’t think I’d be recognizable if I dyed my fringe another color. Purple just kind of comes with the package deal.”

“Charming,” Haga rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but unless you started placing in tournaments again, you’ve kind of lost your recognizability altogether.”

“Oh, please! It’s still my signature, whether I start dueling again or not,” Ryuzaki stuck his tongue out as Haga softly shoved his shoulder against the brunette. Bumping back into Haga teasingly, he asked, “Where do you keep your games? I remember you having a TV in your old room that connected to your GameCube – did you get rid of it? I wanna play Mario Kart.”

“It would have crowded the room too much if I moved it in here, so we have it in the upstairs common room,” Haga said with a shrug, not yet moving from his spot at the terrarium. He gave Ryuzaki a glance over his shoulder, chuckling at the impatient look the brunette regarded him with. “Think you can wait until I get the rest of my terrariums changed out? It’s feeding day.”

Ryuzaki nodded good-naturedly as he returned to his spot on Haga’s bed, propping his chin into a cupped hand as he watched his companion work. “Yeah, fine. That’s no problem.”

The two chatted quietly amongst themselves as Haga flitted around his room to tend to his insects, both boys easing back into the returning relaxing atmosphere as Ryuzaki lounged back and stared up at the ceiling. He absentmindedly tousled a lock of his brunette hair that had escaped the grasp of his ponytail by his cheek as he heard Haga shuffle from place to place.

The air between them was silent for a few minutes before Ryuzaki asked, “When did you even win the Championships, anyways? I hadn’t heard a word about it at _all –_ thought they might’ve cancelled this year’s event or something.”

Haga was in far better spirits, sounding hardly bothered when he replied back nonchalantly, “About three months ago, I believe. Almost four. Like I said, I kept everything undercover; if they had filmed and broadcasted my duel without my written consent, there would have been hell to pay.”

“Tch, listen to you, sounding like a badass,” Ryuzaki teased with a coy smile, propping himself up on his elbow as he half-rose to watch Haga move. His smile faltered slightly as he considered the smaller boy. “… Still, it doesn’t really sound like you.”

“Oh?” Haga didn’t look up from where he was preparing sliced cockroach for his ant farm. Ryuzaki’s nose crinkled at the sight. “Enlighten me.”

“Well I mean, like… you don’t even look _happy_ about winning. Not even a little bit. Do you remember the last Championship we placed in?” Ryuzaki flopped back onto the bed as he frowned in contemplation, eyes up at the ceiling again. “Hell, when Pegasus handed you that trophy after you beat me, you looked _so_ excited I thought you’d gotten a… h-heh, never mind.”

“E-eh?!” Haga’s head shot up immediately as Ryuzaki snickered under his breath, fixing a blushing glare at the brunette who was making himself entirely too comfortable on his bed. The smirk he received in response only worked to further mortify him as his face became enveloped in red. “D-don’t you dare finish that sentence! Get your mind out of the gutter, you pervert!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Ryuzaki relented with a laugh. “I’m being serious though – kind of. Like, your face was about as red back then as it is right now. When I pointed out that trophy earlier, you didn’t even crack a smile at it.”

The spectacled boy only shrugged, not really knowing what to say in response. “It was kind of inconsequential, honestly. Espa couldn’t make it to the tournament, and my parents sure as hell weren’t going to show up on their own volition, so it was just… l-lonely, honestly.”

Ryuzaki nodded absentmindedly, though the thought of a tournament packed with people being _lonely_ was somewhat lost on him. The concept of Haga being anything but excited at winning a competition was still a tad foreign to him, as he knew how serious he had once been about dueling, but he really couldn’t judge. He had spent the last year quaking in his worn-out sneakers at the prospect of stepping foot back out on the dueling arena again; why would Haga be any different? He was allowed to be just as apprehensive as Ryuzaki was.

Haga’s next words brought him out of his reverie, startling the brunette a tad as the teal-haired teen admitted sheepishly, “… I looked for you out in the crowd, you know.”

“Eh?” Ryuzaki propped himself back up on his elbow to address the boy with wide violet eyes. “Really? Why?”

Haga nodded. “I-I don’t know, it’s just… I know the thought of _me_ not wanting to duel might have been weird to think about, but I had no idea where you went after you broke contact with me. The thought of not having you in the crowd at a tournament was… weird. There was a time where we were the first to put our names into the ring – even if you weren’t there competing anymore, I would have at least expected you to be a spectator, especially since we’d placed in the Regional Championships before.”

“I might have shown up if you’d let the press know that you were even _competing_ ,” Ryuzaki retorted, though his words were softer than he anticipated them to be. Haga’s piercing stare was cutting through him as he spoke, a calculating frown on his lips as Ryuzaki tried to weakly defend himself. “You made yourself invisible to the duelists’ eye when you shot down the coverage, and I was… ready to move on with my life, I guess. Dueling wasn’t really a part of it anymore.”

Annoyance shone clear through Haga’s features as he crinkled his nose and grimaced, though he surprised Ryuzaki when his next words weren’t a biting retort. He busied himself with sliding his cockroach carcass into his ant farm. “You’re making a graceful return back into it, though. As much as I loathe to admit it, you even won against me today – though I’ll only be truly impressed once you defeat me at my best. No one in any serious tournament would grovel at your feet like I did today.”

“Piece of cake.” Ryuzaki cheesed, cocky voice sending a ripple of annoyance through Haga’s shoulders as he gave him another halfhearted glare. Ryuzaki leaned forward and propped himself up on his knees to watch the ants in Haga’s farm entirely swarm the cockroach, his features blanching in horrified fascination at how fast they worked. Haga, on the other hand, looked like a proud parent as he watched his colony rip apart and transport its meal to the nest. “Next time we duel, you’re ancient history. My win today wasn’t _just_ a fluke, y’know.”

“We’ll see,” Haga merely replied with a small smirk.

The mass of ants working to shred apart their meal became blurred as Ryuzaki’s eyes lost their focus, the dino duelist frowning as he sat back on his haunches to think. Even if it was on a complete technicality, since Haga was about as strategic during their duel as a brick wall, Ryuzaki had still _won_. The win hadn’t given him any of the satisfaction he would have otherwise had at defeating an opponent, especially one as formidable as Haga, but the undisputable fact was still there that he had taken Haga’s Life Points down to 0 and emerged victorious from their duel.

His eyes widened slightly. That was the first time he’d been able to ever beat Haga in a duel, whether his mind was in the game or not. He hadn’t beaten him at the Regional Championships or any subsequent duels they had ever had against each other – his win today was unprecedented, even if it was rather inconsequential.

He wished that the win would have actually _meant something –_ that Haga would have been playing at his best so the victory was something he actually deserved. The itch he felt to earn a proper victory was rather potent as he thought about it – that competitive side of him that had gone dormant for so long in the wake of his hiatus was waking back to life as he rediscovered his passion for Duel Monsters.

That itch had yet to be satiated if Haga was dueling at his worst. Ryuzaki was surprised at just how _hollow_ he felt at beating Haga in such a desperate state of breakdown.

He was even more surprised at just how _bad_ he wanted to work to _earn_ that victory from Haga – to beat him in a duel that Haga absolutely _had_ to concede to. To wipe out his Life Points in a way that Haga couldn’t dispute, or credit to his lack of focus or mental stability. That kind of a victory was something that he had been lacking for far too long – way before he had ever lost contact with Haga, that was for certain – and it honestly didn’t even need to be _Haga_ that he won against.

Ryuzaki wanted to duel to win.

And that was a feeling that sparked life into his chest and brought a fire to his veins he hadn’t felt since his desperate tag-team with Haga against Zigfried Von Schroeder. The itch he felt for satisfaction was unscratched.

He hadn’t realized just how _much_ he missed that passion.

“Well, I think that’s the last thing I need to do to take care of my colonies for the day,” Haga spoke beside him, spooking Ryuzaki out of his reverie. The brunette gave a full-body twitch at the sudden voice, violet eyes peering up at Haga while he busied himself with cleaning off his supplies and tidying everything up. The insect duelist only smiled absentmindedly to himself as he adjusted his spectacles, peering down at his work contentedly as he gave his terrariums a final onceover.

Haga hadn’t noticed just how deep Ryuzaki had been zoning out, but that was fine.

“Anyways, I promised you Mario Kart after I was finished tending to my insects.” The younger teen spoke up again, finally settling his gaze softly on Ryuzaki. The soft glow of the heat lamps glinted off his spectacles as he motioned for Ryuzaki to follow him. “The television’s in the upstairs common room – c’mon, dino-dork. I’ll show you where it is.”

He turned to walk out of the room, but paused to turn over his shoulder and make sure that Ryuzaki was moving to follow him. Their eyes met again as Ryuzaki watched him – warmth spread in his chest at the familiarity of Haga’s mannerisms. The way he tilted his head to the side, making his glasses slide down his nose a bit, was so effortlessly _Haga_ that Ryuzaki couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath, nodding with enthusiasm at the prospect of finally playing Mario Kart.

His heart thudded soundly in his chest before he gave a lopsided smile, bounding off the bed and linking his arm up with the shorter teen who only huffed in amusement at the treatment. Ryuzaki pulled him forward as they made their way out of Haga’s room together, his smile infectious as Haga gave him a small grin in return.

Ryuzaki wanted to do everything in his power to keep that smile settled on Haga’s face. The insect duelist had seemed so small and broken without his usual confidence and tenacity – if he was forced to duel in Kaiba’s tournament, Ryuzaki was certain he would only see Haga slip further and further into that state of mind, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. He might even end up like Ryuzaki, avoiding Duel Monsters for far too long due to his own fears and paranoia.

The dino duelist couldn’t let that happen, by any means possible. Haga wouldn’t be himself if he was too stressed to back out of this tournament properly. If helping Haga out meant taking the reins entirely and moving forward with their planning when the insect duelist could not?

Then so be it. He refused to stand by and let Haga spiral into despair any further.

He had no idea what he’d end up figuring out and going with, but as the shorter teen leaned forward to open the door and usher them towards the upstairs common room, Ryuzaki made a silent promise to Haga that he would do everything he could to protect him from ever having to break down like that again.

Ryuzaki pressed his cheek into Haga’s shoulder as he trudged on forward, arms still linked as he let Haga show him around the upper floor of the house. He would set his plan into motion soon, but for now, they were both more than happy to put the issue aside and move on to something far more uplifting. Heavens knows they both needed the distraction; Haga especially.

If he chose Rainbow Road, though, Ryuzaki was going to have some choice words – break down be damned, only a complete sadist would put him through that circuit and try to get away with it!

“I call dibs on Bowser,” Haga mused beside him. “Can’t you pick up your feet a little? I swear, you chomp at the bit to push me out the door, and then you totally slow your roll like you’re sticking to the carpet. C’mon, it’s just up the hall. Maybe we can pick out a movie to watch afterwards?”

“That depends. Is it Jurassic Park?”

“No, it is _not_ Jurassic Park, Ryuzaki.”

Ryuzaki only chuckled as Haga fixed him with a glare that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Fine, fine. Lead the way, bug-boy.”


End file.
